Water Influence on the Physico-Chemical Properties and 3D Printability of Choline Acrylate—Bacterial Cellulose Inks

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the influence of water as a co-solvent on the interaction between a polymerizable ionic liquid—choline acrylate (ChA)—and bacterial cellulose. Bacterial cellulose dispersed in ChA is a new type of UV-curable biopolymer-based ink that is a prospective material for the 3D printing of green composite ion-gels. Higher cellulose content in inks is beneficial for the ecological and mechanical properties of materials, and leads to increased viscosity and the yield stress of such systems and hampers printability. It was found that the addition of water results in (1) a decrease in the solvent viscosity and yield stress; and (2) a decrease in the stability of dispersion toward phase separation under stress. In this work, an optimal composition in the range of 30–40 wt% water content demonstrating 97–160 Pa of yield stress was found that ensures the printability and stability of inks. The rheological properties of inks and mechanical characteristics (0.7–0.8 MPa strength and 1.1–1.2 MPa Young’s modulus) were obtained. The mechanism of influence of the ratio ChA/water on the properties of ink was revealed with atomic force microscopy, wide-angle X-ray diffraction studies of bacterial cellulose after regeneration from solvent, and computer simulation of ChA/water mixtures and their interaction with the cellulose surface.

Bacterial Cellulose: A Sustainable Source for Hydrogels and 3D-Printed Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

“…For bacterial cellulose to function in vivo, cell–cell contact is essential [ 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 27 ]. More importantly, because of its topography, wettability, and surface charge, bacterial cellulose demonstrates remarkable physicochemical and pharmacological properties [ 1 , 4 , 27 , 59 , 60 ]. In tissue engineering applications, bacterial cellulose is used in two main ways: as grown directly on application-specific substrates, or mechanically and chemically processed to serve as a reinforcing or crosslinking agent.…”

“…In recent years, bacterial cellulose has been a subject of interest for researchers due to its unique macromolecular structure and biological properties [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Early studies focused on optimizing the production and purification methods of bacterial cellulose, in order to improve its quality and suitability for various biomedical applications [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Three-Dimensional Printed Shape Memory Gels Based on a Structured Disperse System with Hydrophobic Cellulose Nanofibers

“…This result can be explained as follows. The addition of water reduces the efficiency of the interactions of M-CNF with DES because of the hydration of polar ions in DES [47]. Thus, the stabilization of hydrophobic M-CNF in ink is reduced and the interactions between CNFs are enhanced.…”

Recent Advances in Cellulose-Based Hydrogels Prepared by Ionic Liquid-Based Processes

“…By using water as an antisolvent, the regenerated ink hydrogel on a PET substrate exhibits structural distortion, whereas there is no such issues on glass [223]. Using 30-40% w/w water as a cosolvent with bacterial cellulose dissolved in choline acrylate (a polymerizable IL) was studied by Fedotovam et al [224,225]. The addition of water exhibited the printability and stability of inks.…”