Biodegradable polymers from renewable sources. New hemicellulose-based hydrogels

Communication: Hemicellulose/poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA)-base d hydrogels were prepared by the radical polymerization of HEMA with hemice llulose purposely modified with well-defined amounts of methacrylic functio ns using a redox initiator system. Oligomeric hydrosolube hemicelluloses pr oduced from spruce chips were used for modification studies. The chemical m odification of hemicellulose was performed with 2-[(1-imidazolyl)formyloxy] ethyl methacrylate as a modifying agent and triethylamine as the catalyst. The kinetics of the modification reaction was monitored by means of H-1 NMR spectroscopy. The resulting hydrogels obtained after a 30 min reaction wer e homogeneous, elastic, and transparent materials.