Introduction to Nanocrystalline Cellulose

Nanocrystalline cellulose, a rod-shaped nanoscale material with exceptional strength and physicochemical properties, can be prepared from inexpensive renewable biomass. Besides its potential use as a reinforcing agent for industrial biocomposites, pristine NCC exhibits low toxicity and poses no serious environmental concerns, providing impetus for its use in bioapplications [115]. 

Depending on the desired application, chemical modification of NCC can be carried out at the hydroxyl groups of the glucose units on the crystalline backbone structure [115]. Some reactions to accomplish such modifications include sulfonation, oxidation [115, 123], catlonization [115, 124], grafting [115, 125] (via acid chloride [115, 126], acid anhydride [115, 127], isocyanate [115, 128], and silylation [115,129] (Fig. 3.8). 

Of interest is the synthesis of high-density metallic nanoparticles onto tunicate NCC surfaces using a cationic surfactant, cetyl 

Composites utilizing cellulose fibers have been prepared with many different materials, especially polymers. It has been well demonstrated that these fibers help to alter and in general enhance the physical properties of polymeric composites [140, 149-157]. Additionally, their bio-degradability and biocompatibility enables cellulose-reinforced materials to be suitable for bio-scaffolding in medical applications, if the polymeric component is also biocompatible [140, 158]. Some surface modifications have been performed on cellulose to add selected characteristics, such as antimicrobial properties to polymeric matrixes [140,159]. 

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