Biomedical applications of nanocellulose

Abstract

Due to remarkable physical properties, especially surface chemistry and excellent biological properties, such as low toxicity, biocompatibility and biodegradability, nanocellulose has gained much attention for its use as biomedical material in the last years. This type of material is widely applied in medical implants, tissue engineering, drug delivery, wound-healing, cardiovascular applications, among others. This paper presents a brief review on the use of nanocellulose in biomedical area. Three different types of nanocellulose, namely cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) and bacterial cellulose (BC) are discussed in terms of their production processes, properties and promising applications, based on the most recent published scientific works. In the same way, possible nanocellulose functional modifications, such as fluorescent modification, with the aim to improve specific properties and behavior are also discussed. Finally, an overview about the future of nanocellulose-based materials in the biomedical field is presented and analyzed.