Abstract
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are renewable nanosized materials with exceptional physicochemical properties that continue to garner a high level of attention in both industry and academia for their potential high-end material applications. These rod-shaped CNCs are appealing due to their non-toxic, carbohydrate-based chemical structure, large surface area, and the presence of ample surface hydroxyl groups for chemical surface modifications. CNCs, generally prepared from sulfuric acid-mediated hydrolysis of native cellulose, display an anionic surface that has been exploited for a number of applications. However, several recent studies showed the importance of CNCs’ surface charge reversal towards the design of functional cationic CNCs. Cationization of CNCs could further open up other innovative applications, in particular, bioapplications such as gene and drug delivery, vaccine adjuvants, and tissue engineering. This mini-review focuses mainly on the recent covalent synthetic methods for the design and fabrication of cationic CNCs as well as their potential bioapplications.
Highlights
IntroductionCellulose and and CelluloseCellulose Nanocrystals NanocrystalsCellulose, being being one onon earth, hashas been used for Cellulose, one of of the themost mostabundant abundantrenewable renewablenatural naturalpolymers polymers earth, been used several years in both its unmodified and modified forms for the development of a range of materials for several years in both its unmodified and modified forms for the development of a range of and products for our societyChemically, cellulose is a linear long chain materials anduseful products useful for[1].our society [1].Chemically, cellulose is ahomopolysaccharide linear long chain made up of βD -anhydroglucopyranose units joined together by β-1,4-glycosidic bonds
Surface cationization proceeded via a nucleophilic addition reaction of the cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) activated hydroxyl groups with the reactive epoxy functional group of EPTMAC (Scheme 3)
CNCs as biodegradable, biocompatible, and renewable nanobiomaterial for the appendage of activity toward the photodynamic inactivation of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Staphylococcus aureus, photosensitizers that could be potentially useful in the food preparation and health care industries
Summary
Cellulose, being being one onon earth, hashas been used for Cellulose, one of of the themost mostabundant abundantrenewable renewablenatural naturalpolymers polymers earth, been used several years in both its unmodified and modified forms for the development of a range of materials for several years in both its unmodified and modified forms for the development of a range of and products for our society. Cellulose is a linear long chain materials anduseful products useful for[1].our society [1]. Cellulose is ahomopolysaccharide linear long chain made up of βD -anhydroglucopyranose units joined together by β-1,4-glycosidic bonds. These rod-like cellulose particles have been as cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) [2,3] These rod-like cellulose particles have been referred to in referred literature as nanowhiskers or nanocrystalline cellulose, thisare review, they literaturetoasinnanowhiskers or nanocrystalline cellulose, for this review,for they all termed are all termed as CNCs. In general, CNCs can be almost isolatedany from almost any cellulosic and as CNCs. CNCs can be isolated from cellulosic materials and materials typical major typical sources bacteria, tunicates, and algae.
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