Cellulose–halloysite nanotube composite hydrogels for curcumin delivery

Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) were added to cellulose NaOH/urea solution to prepare composite hydrogels using epichlorhydrine crosslinking at an elevated temperature. The shear viscosity, mechanical properties, microstructure, swelling properties, cytocompatibility, and drug delivery behavior of the cellulose/HNT composite hydrogels were investigated. The viscosity of the composite solution increases with the addition of HNT. The compressive mechanical properties of composite hydrogels are significantly improved compared with pure cellulose hydrogel. The compressive strength of the composite hydrogels with 66.7% HNTs is 128 kPa, while that of pure cellulose hydrogel is only 29.8 kPa in compressive strength. Rheological measurement suggests the resistance to deformation is improved for composite hydrogels. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy show that the crystal structure and chemical structure of HNT are not changed in the composite hydrogels. Hydrogen bonding interactions between HNT and cellulose exist in the composites. A porous structure of the composite hydrogels with pore size of 200–400 μm was found by scanning electron microscopy. The addition of HNT leads to decreased swelling ratios in NaCl solution and pure water for the composite hydrogels. Cytotoxicity assays show that the cellulose/HNT composite hydrogels have a good biocompatibility with MC3T3-E1 cells and MCF-7 cells. Curcumin is further loaded into the composite hydrogel via physical adsorption. The curcumin-loaded composite hydrogels show a strong inhibition effect on the cancer cells. All the results illustrate that the cellulose/HNT composite hydrogels have promising applications such as anticancer drug delivery systems and anti-inflammatory wound dressings.