Abstract
In this study, we report the isolation of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from Isora plant fibers by sulfuric acid hydrolysis and their assembly on hydrophilic cellulose and silicon-di-oxide (SiO2) surfaces via a layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition method. The isolated CNCs were monodispersed and exhibited a length of 200–300 nm and a diameter of 10–20 nm, a negative zetapotential (−34–39 mV) over a wide pH range, and high stability in water at various concentrations. The multi-layered structure, adsorbed mass, conformational changes, and anticoagulant activity of sequentially deposited anionic (sulfated) CNCs and cationic polyethyleneimine (PEI) on the surfaces of cellulose and SiO2 by LBL deposition were investigated using a quartz crystal microbalance technique. The organization and surface features (i.e., morphology, thickness, wettability) of CNCs adsorbed on the surfaces of PEI deposited at different ionic strengths (50–300 mM) of sodium chloride were analysed in detail by profilometry layer-thickness, atomic force microscopy and contact angle measurements. Compared to cellulose (control sample), the total coagulation time and plasma deposition were increased and decreased, respectively, for multilayers of PEI/CNCs. This study should provide new possibilities to fabricate and tailor the physicochemical properties of multilayer films from polysaccharide-based nanocrystals for various biomedical applications.
Highlights
In the last decades, layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition methods have been employed in the field of surface functionalization with nanoscale precision in respect of their chemistry and structure [1,2]
We reported the preparation and multilayered assembly of cellulose nanocrystals on two types of hydrophilic substates: cellulose and SiO2 surfaces using layerby-layer approach
The cellulose nanocrystals extracted from Isora plant fibers by sulfuric acid hydrolysis showed a length and diameter of 200–300 nm and 10–20 nm, respectively, and a negative zeta potential of–37 mV at pH 7.4
Summary
Layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition methods have been employed in the field of surface functionalization with nanoscale precision in respect of their chemistry and structure [1,2]. CNCs are interesting materials that exhibit several fascinating properties, such as optical activity [13], selective reflection of polarized light [4], strong iridescence [14], anticoagulant activity [15], etc They are mostly prepared by sulfuric acid hydrolysis of various types of cellulosic materials with a range of aspect ratios (e.g., length: 200 nm–several micrometers, diameter: 5–15 nm) [16,17,18]. To best of our knowledge, the current study is the first to describe the isolation of CNCs from Isora plant fibers by sulfuric acid hydrolysis Another interesting aspect of acid hydrolysed CNCs is that they exhibit negatively charged sulfate groups that confer them an anticoagulant activity, similar to other natural (e.g., heparin) [19] or semi-synthetic polysaccharides such as or cellulose sulfate [8] or sulfo-chitosan [19]. The coagulation of citrated blood plasma on the self-assembled multilayers were investigated using QCM-D
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