Novel hydrogelswerepreparedfromcarboxymethylcellulose(CMC)sodiumsaltbycrosslinkingwith
polyethylene glycoldiglycidylether(PEGDE).Thedetailedstructuresofthehydrogelsweredetermined
via FTIRandsolid-stateNMRspectroscopicanalyses.IncreasingthefeedratioofPEGDEtoCMCinthe
reaction mixtureledtoanincreaseinthecrosslinkingdegree,whichenhancedthephysicalstrength
of thehydrogels.Thehydrogelsexhibitedenzymedegradability,andafter3daysofincubationwith
cellulase, 62–28wt%oftheCMCinthehydrogelwasdegradedundertheconditionsemployedinthis
study. Inaddition,thehydrogelsexhibitedproteinadsorptionandreleaseabilities,andtheamountsof
proteins adsorbedonthehydrogelsandthereleaseprofileoftheproteinsdependedontheproteinsizes
and crosslinkingdegreeofthehydrogels.TheseuniquepropertiesmightenabletheuseofCMC-based
hydrogels asdrugdeliverysystemcarriersforprotein-baseddrugsifthebiologicalsafetyofthehydrogel
can beverified.