Nanocellulose as a sustainable biomass material: structure, properties, present status and future prospects in biomedical applications

Abstract

Nanocellulose, extracted from the most abundant biomass material cellulose, has proved to be an environmentally friendly material with excellent mechanical performance owing to its unique nano-scaled structure, and has been used in a variety of applications as engineering and functional materials. The great biocompatibility and biodegradability, in particular, render nanocellulose promising in biomedical applications. In this review, the structure, treatment technology and properties of three different nanocellulose categories, i.e., nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) and bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), are introduced and compared. The cytotoxicity, biocompatibility and frontier applications in biomedicine of the three nanocellulose categories were the focus and are detailed in each section. Future prospects concerning the cytotoxicity, applications and industrial production of nanocellulose are also discussed in the last section.

In vitro toxicity assessment of hydrogel patches obtained by cation‐induced cross‐linking of rod‐like cellulose nanocrystals

“…Nanocellulose is expected to find increasing applications because of its excellent mechanical performance, the optical transparency, the tunable surface chemistry together with the self‐assembly behavior, which offers a spontaneous route for fabrication of macroscopic structures (Xue, Mou, & Xiao, ). The industrial production of nanocellulose is also rapidly expanding since alternative and low cost raw cellulose sources, such as food wastes, and eco‐friendly purification procedures are available (De France, Hoare, & Cranston, ; García, Gandini, Labidi, Belgacem, & Bras, ).…”

“…In spite of the many advantages offered by nanocellulose hydrogels, toxicity concern is still an open question. In fact, thorough toxicity testing of hydrogels and all their components has not been widely executed (De France et al, ; Lin & Dufresne, ; Xue et al, ). Hazard assessment studies have been performed mainly for NCF and few adverse biological responses have been documented (Basu, Lindh, Ålander, Strømme, & Ferraz, ; Norppa, ).…”

“…In this regard, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 10993‐1 and DIN EN ISO 10993‐5:2009 (), suggests to test in vitro the cytotoxicity of each component material, including impurities, and constituents associated with processing, as well as the device both, in direct and indirect contact with the cells. There have been only a few studies concerning the toxicity of CNCs (Xue et al, ). In particular, cell cultivation experiments consisting in the monitoring of growth propagation and activity of cells in CNC hydrogel scaffolds have been reported (Lin & Dufresne, ), while a concentration‐dependent cytotoxicity was observed on L929 (Hong et al, ).…”

“…In this regard, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 10993-1 and DIN EN ISO 10993-5:2009, suggests to test in vitro the cytotoxicity of each component material, including impurities, and constituents associated with processing, as well as the device both, in direct and indirect contact with the cells. There have been only a few studies concerning the toxicity of CNCs (Xue et al, 2017).…”

Surface modification for nano‐lignocellulose fiber through vapor‐phase‐assisted surface polymerization

“…To date, ample researchers have utilized natural fibers to be used as reinforcing filler in designing composite materials that are friendly to the environment . Owing to their large specific surface areas, low weight, and biodegradability, a growing interest is stemming in nanofibers derived from natural fibers . Besides that, other advantages associated with natural nanofibers are that they are environmentally friendly, have high specific stiffness, and strength.…”