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Cellulose Nanocrystal and Its Applications

Nanocellulose is a term referring to nano-structured cellulose. This may be either cellulose nanocrystal (CNC or NCC), cellulose nanofibers (CNF) also called microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), or bacterial nanocellulose, which refers to nano-structured cellulose produced by bacteria.
Cellulose Nanocrystal (Nanocrystalline Cellulose) has interesting mechanical properties for use in material applications. Its tensile strength is about 500MPa similar to that of aluminum. Nanocrystalline cellulose's stiffness is about 140–220 GPa, comparable with that of Kevlar and better than that of glass fiber, both of which are used commercially to reinforce plastics. Films made from nanocellulose have high strength, high stiffness and high strain. Nanocrystalline cellulose's strength/weight ratio is 8 times that of stainless steel. Fibers made from nanocellulose have high strength up to 1.57 GPa and stiffness up to 86 GPa.
Cellulose nanocrystal as nanofiller has been a focus of attention as it exhibits attractive advantages such as low cost, low density, better uniformity and durability, and biodegradability. The high strength and stiffness as well as the small dimensions of cellulose nanocrystal may well impart useful properties to composite materials reinforced with these fibers, which could subsequently be used in wide range of applications. The versatility and adaptability of bionanocomposites enable these nanocrystalline cellulose-based materials to be utilized for biomedical applications. Given that one of the characteristics of medical biomaterials is biocompatibility, or the ability to function properly in the human body to produce the desired clinical outcome without causing adverse effect, cellulose nanocrystal as a bioderived material can be a promising biomaterial.
Now let's look at usage of nanocrystalline cellulose-based composites in biomedical applications. Cellulose Nanocrystal (Nanocrystalline Cellulose) is called the eye of biomaterial, and is highly applicable to the biomedical industry, including in drug release systems, scaffolds for tissue engineering, skin replacements for burns and wounds, stent coverings and bone reconstruction nerves, gum and duramater reconstruction, and blood vessel growth. Several attractive characteristics of cellulose nanocrystals have made it favorable for this application, such as low production cost as compared to biopolymers, abundance, obtained from sustainable source, nontoxicity, biocompatibility, and excellent mechanical properties. Furthermore, since it is present in nanoscale, cellulose nanocrystal possesses high surface area, which presents broad possibilities for chemical modifications.

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