Nature-derived fibrous nanomaterial toward biomedicine and environmental remediation: Today's state and future prospects

Abstract

Nanocellulose (NC) among all renewable biopolymers has proven to be one of the most applicable existing nanomaterials, attributed to its fascinating diverse range of physicochemical properties. Herein, this review presents elaborately updates on current research activities focused on developed materials with NC as bycomponent for application particularly in the field of biomedicine and wastewater remediation. A brief introduction on structural properties, production as well as surface features of NC is elucidated. Next, are highlights on usage of nanocellulosic polymeric materials in biomedicine including drug delivery systems, tissue engineering, wound dressing, medical implants and in addition, applications of NC as adsorbent in the field of environmental remediation are also outlined. This section will mainly focus on the consolidation of NC with other additives to develop flexible substrates via incorporation of new functional moieties. Finally, future perspectives as well as main challenges and impediments on working with nanocellulosic-based materials are explored in an effort to ameliorate the development and effective usage of this nanomaterial in biomedicine and water remediation. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47878.