We describe herein a nanocellulose-alginate hydrogel suitable for 3D printing. The composition of the hydrogel was optimized based on material characterization methods and 3D printing experiments, and its behavior during the printing process was studied using computational fluid dynamics simulations. The hydrogel was biofunctionalized by the covalent coupling of an enhanced avidin protein to the cellulose nanofibrils. Ionic cross-linking of the hydrogel using calcium ions improved the performance of the material. The resulting hydrogel is suitable for 3D printing, its mechanical properties indicate good tissue compatibility, and the hydrogel absorbs water in moist conditions, suggesting potential in applications such as wound dressings. The biofunctionalization potential was shown by attaching a biotinylated fluorescent protein and a biotinylated fluorescent small molecule via avidin and monitoring the material using confocal microscopy. The 3D-printable bioactivated nanocellulose-alginate hydrogel offers a platform for the development of biomedical devices, wearable sensors, and drug-releasing materials.

The origins of the unique properties of natural fibres have remained largely unresolved because of the complex interrelations between structural hierarchy, chirality and bound water. In this paper, analysis of the melting endotherms for bleached hardwood pulps indicates that the amount of nonfreezing bound water (0.21 g/g) is roughly half of the amount of freezing bound water (0.42 g/g). We link this result to the two smallest constitutive units, microfibrils and their bundles, using molecular dynamics simulations at both hierarchical levels. The molecular water layers found in the simulations correspond quite accurately to the measured amount of non-freezing and freezing bound water. Disorder that results from the microfibril twist and amphiphilicity prevents co-crystallisation, leaving routes for water molecules to diffuse inside the microfibril bundle. Moreover, the simulations predict correctly the magnitude of the right-handed twist at different hierarchical levels. Significant changes in hydroxymethyl group conformations are seen during twisting that compare well with existing experimental data. Our findings go beyond earlier modelling studies in predicting the twist and structure of the microfibril bundle.

We carried out large-scale atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to study the growth of twin lamellar crystals of polyethylene initiated by small crystal seeds. By examining the size distribution of the stems—straight crystalline polymer segments—we show that the crystal edge has a parabolic profile. At the growth front, there is a layer of stems too short to be stable, and new stable stems are formed within this layer, leading to crystal growth. Away from the edge, the lengthening of the stems is limited by a lack of available slack length in the chains. This frustration can be relieved by mobile crystal defects that allow topological relaxation by traversing through the crystal. The results shed light on the process of polymer crystal growth and help explain initial thickness selection and lamellar thickening.

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