Role of nanocellulose in industrial and pharmaceutical sectors - A review.

Lignocellulosic biomass from agricultural residues serves as the critical component to replace synthetic polymeric materials in the coming future. Agricultural residues can be used to obtain cellulose by delignification followed by bleaching. Further, cellulose is converted into nanocellulose by various methods. Nanocellulose is used in multiple pharmaceutical applications as a polymer in hydrogels, transdermal drug delivery systems, aerogels, wound healing dressing materials, as superdisintegrants in fast dissolving tablets, emulgel, microparticles, gels, foams, thickening agents, stabilizers, cosmetics, medical implants, tissue engineering, liposomes, food and composites, etc. This review provides detailed knowledge about the nature of nanocellulose regarding its high surface area, high polymerization, loading, and binding capacity of hydrophilic and hydrophobic active pharmaceutical ingredients and significance of various applications of nanocellulose. Biocompatible and non-toxic, it makes it an ideal material for applications in the biomedical field. A significant advantage is a biocompatibility, which is non-toxic for many biomedical applications.

Hevea brasiliensis mediated synthesis of nanocellulose: Effect of preparation methods on morphology and properties.

In present research, Hevea brasiliensis (Rubber Wood) converted into cellulose by pre-treatment with NaOH (5%) and NaClO2 (5%). In addition, the cellulose was converted to nanocellulose (NC) using ionic liquid, acid hydrolysis and TEMPO oxidation accompanied by ultra-sonication. The prepared nanocellulose characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Thermal properties have been studied using thermogravimetric and differential thermal Analysis (TGA/DTA). FT-IR results clearly suggested that the synthetic approaches employed did not alter the principle chemical structure of rubber wood cellulose. SEM and AFM monographs reveal that synthetic approaches affect the morphology/surface topology of prepared nanocellulose. Among the three kinds of NC, NC by TEMPO approach had the largest aspect ratio and superior thermal stability.