Chitosan/alginate composite porous hydrogels reinforced with PHEMA/PEI core–shell particles and pineapple-leaf cellulose fibers: their physico-mechanical properties and ability to incorporate AgNP

In this work, porous chitosan/alginate hydrogels (CS/Alg) were fabricated by the addition of two reinforcing fillers, PHEMA/PEI core–shell particles and pineapple-leaf cellulose fibers, using a freeze-drying method. At the optimum ratio and mixing conditions, the porous hydrogels obtained after freeze-drying showed an interconnected porous structure with pore size in a range of 50–100 µm and porosity in a range of 80–85%. With the incorporation...