In the present study, we have produced a sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) hydrogel from a bacterial cellulose etherification reaction with chloroacetic acid in an alkaline medium. Bacterial cellulose (BC) was synthesized via economical and environmentally friendly methods using the Gluconacetobacter xylinus bacterium. After purification, freeze-drying, and milling, BC microparticles were dispersed in NaOH solution for different time periods before the etherification reaction. This has allowed the understanding of the alkalinization effect on BC modification. All synthesized CMC were soluble in water, and FTIR and XRD analyses confirmed the etherification reaction. The bath of BC in NaOH solution affects both molecular weight and degree of substitution. SEM analysis revealed the change of BC microstructure from fibrous-like to a smooth, uniform structure. The CMC-0 h allowed the production of crosslinked hydrogel after dehydrothermal treatment. Such hydrogel has been characterized rheologically and has shown a water absorption of 35 times its original weight. The optimization of the CMC produced from BC could pave the way for the production of ultrapure hydrogel to be applied in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry.

Oral drug administration provides a convenient and patient‐compliant way for drug delivery, especially for chronic diseases and prolonged pharmacological treatments. However, due to the repetitiveness of such therapeutic approach, the patients are led to neglect/forget the therapy affecting the healthcare delivery. Indeed, the non‐adherence to pharmacological prescriptions and the unknown amount of real‐time drug release result in a non‐compliant therapeutic drug level over the protracted therapies. The proposed technology will enable the monitoring of both pharmacological adherence and real‐time drug release. The approach exploits a passive intrabody communication (IBC) activation in order to enable an edible pill, realized starting from food additives and food‐grade materials, to monitor pharmacological adherence. Following activation, the signal is modulated by IBC coupling switching triggered by pill degradation in a gastrointestinal tract, resulting in a monitored drug release. The proof‐of‐concept is designed for a targeted release and monitoring of Metformin in the intestine. The system shows an in vitro limit of cumulative drug release detection of 18 µg mL⁻¹ and a limit of real‐time drug release detection of 2 µg mL⁻¹ min⁻¹. This platform represents the first solution to monitor passive drug release in real‐time, from intake to complete absorption, enabling unique and long‐sought healthcare therapy and treatment opportunity.