This project aims to develop innovative hydrogels based on biopolymers with properties designed for high-values medical applications. The extraordinary versatility of these materials has its origins in the diversity of the constituent biopolymers, ranging from vegetable polysaccharides (cellulose and its various allomorphic forms) to the bacterial polysaccharides (alginate, xanthan, etc.), coupled with the presence of materials reinforcement of high-tech, such as cellulose nanoparticles (CNs).

 

          The purpose is not only the assembly of biopolymers in hydrophilic matrices by chemical cross-linking, but also the biosynthesis of new exopolysaccharides (EPS) with well-defined chemical and structural characteristics. The new series of EPS will be biosynthesized by lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus spp., Weisella sp., Pediococcus sp.) in order to provide a controlled compositions, degrees of branching and molecular weights. Moreover, the isolation of CNs by novel methods for a low environmental impact (enzymatic hydrolysis with specific cellulases together with classical and/or unconventional methods) emphasizes the complexity of the project. Its originality is given also by the isolation of CNs from the corresponding allomorphic forms. Finally, the biocompatibility of the new hydrogels will be tested in order to determine their uses, either as systems for controlled release of active principals or as scaffolds in tissue engineering.