Volume: 5, 2026
5th International PhD Students’ Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: H002
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL5.H002
Published online: 22 April 2026
2-Hydroxyethylcellulose based hydrogels with additives – preparation and properties
Daria Biadun*1 and Elżbieta Grządka2
1 Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 3 M. Curie-Skłodowska Sq., 20-031, Lublin, Poland
2 Physical Chemistry Department, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, 3 M. Curie-Skłodowska Sq., 20-031, Lublin, Poland
* Corresponding author: bd4ria@gmail.com
Hydrogels are three-dimensional polymer systems with a wide range of applications in many fields, especially due to their ability to absorb fluids. They build three-dimensional networks capable of reversibly absorbing large amounts of water or biological fluids, without disintegrating or dissolving, so they can be given the desired shape and size. They have recently gained popularity in the scientific world, because they can be easily modified to be most beneficial for a given industry. Medicine is the field that shows the greatest interest in these substances mainly in the form of hydrogel dressings, drug delivery systems and even in tissue engineering. Nevertheless, in deeper research one can see, hydrogels can be useful in many different fields as well, e.g. food, cosmetic or environmental purification industries. The most popular modification of hydrogels, thanks to which they have achieved such success, is the addition of substances with desired properties to the hydrogel matrix. This poster describes the effect and literature examples of the addition of nanometals, plant substances and clay minerals to hydrogels, along with their practical applications. The aim of the experimental part of the poster was to investigate the effect of additives on the properties and structure of hydrogel systems based on 2-hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC). For this purpose, four hydrogels were obtained: without additives and with the addition of non-ionic colloidal nanosilver, extract of Kalanchoe pinnata or illite (yellow clay). Their absorption properties (swelling degree) and surface (SEM analysis) were examined, along with the elemental composition (SEM-EDX analysis). It was shown that the addition of the above-mentioned substances to the HEC-based hydrogel system has a significant effect on the properties of the final product. Each of the obtained hydrogels had its own unique set of properties. The main trend was a much more complex structure and an increasingly lower swelling ratio, decreasing in the order: HEC without additives > with illite > with nanosilver > with Kalanchoe pinnata. This opens up many possibilities for the use of hydrogels with additives in many fields.
Keywords: hydrogel; hydrogel with additives; illite; Kalanchoe pinnata; nanosilver
How to cite
Biadun D., Grządka E., 2026. 2-Hydroxyethylcellulose based hydrogels with additives – preparation and properties. In: 5th International PhD Students’ Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL5.H002