Employees of the University of Alberta introduced a new hydrogel that could be used as an artificial cartilage.

The new material is based on a conventional polyacrylamide hydrogel.

Scientists modified this widely-known material by adding carboxymethylchitosan and dialdehyde of cellulose nanocrystals to it. The first compound can be obtained by processing fish waste - crustacean shells. The second substance is easy to synthesize from cellulose, which can be obtained from the waste of the forest industry.

At the second stage of work, the scientists measured the mechanical characteristics of the new material. It turned out that it has a limit of tensile strength of 244 kPa - approximately the same as that used in the industry of soft polymers.

An article by researchers was published in the journal Carbohydrate Polymers.