(84d) Supercritical Phase Inversion Technique to Produce Composite Membranes Cellulose Acetate-Levan

Levan is a fructose-based exopolysaccharide with a great potential for biomedical applications due to their special properties. Specifically, it has been shown that it enhances cellular adhesion and cellular proliferation in several materials. However, its effect on mechanical properties and the possibility of using supercritical fluids for its inclusion in different materials is still unexplored.

Therefore, this works aims to include levan, previously obtained by means of an enzymatic reaction, by using a supercritical CO₂ technique (supercritical phase inversion) into membranes of cellulose acetate. Results showed that the inclusion of levan increases the pore size (from 9 µm to 13 µm) and the cellular adhesion (from 10% to 30%) of the membranes without modifying pore interconnectivity. Levan also increased the mechanical resistance of the membranes by modifying the stress-strain curves. These curves were successfully modeled (always with a deviation less than 15%) with hyperelastic equations, showing the hyperelastic character of these materials.