Synergistic Effect of UiO-66 Directly Grown on Kombucha-Derived Bacterial Cellulose for Dye Removal.

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are particularly attractive sorbents with great potential for the removal of toxic dye pollutants from industrial wastewaters. The uniform dispersion of MOF particles on suitable substrates then represents a key condition to improve their processability and provide good accessibility to the active sites. In this work, we investigate the efficiency of a natural bacterial cellulose material derived from Kombucha (KBC) as an active functional support for growing and anchoring MOF particles with UiO-66 structures. An original hierarchical microstructure was obtained for the as-developed Kombucha cellulose/UiO-66 (KBC-UiO) composite material, with small MOF crystals (~100 nm) covering the cellulose fibers. Promising adsorption properties were demonstrated for anionic organic dyes such as fluorescein or bromophenol blue in water at pH 5 and pH 7 (more than 90% and 50% removal efficiency, respectively, after 10 min in static conditions). This performance was attributed to both the high accessibility and uniform dispersion of the MOF nanocrystals on the KBC fibers together with the synergistic effects involving the attractive adsorbing properties of UiO-66 and the surface chemistry of KBC. The results of this study provide a simple and generic approach for the design of bio-sourced adsorbents and filters for pollutants abatement and wastewater treatment.

Three-Dimensional-Percolated Ceramic Nanoparticles along Natural-Cellulose-Derived Hierarchical Networks for High Li+ Conductivity and Mechanical Strength.

Solid polymer electrolytes for safe lithium batteries are in general flexible and easy to process, yet they have limited ionic conductivity and low mechanical strength. Introducing nano/microsized fillers into polymer electrolytes has been proven effective to address these issues, while formation of a percolated network of fillers for efficient Li+ conduction remains challenging. In this work, composite polymer electrolyte with 3D cellulose/ceramic networks is successfully developed using natural cellulose fibers and Li+-conducting ceramic nanoparticles. Monodisperse ceramic nanofillers first form interconnected networks driven by the self-assembly of hybrid cellulose fibers. The hierarchical cellulose skeleton provides spatial guidance for ceramic fillers and firmly supports the whole structure. After polymer electrolyte infusion, the resultant hybrid electrolyte affords both 3D continuous Li+ pathways for high Li+ conductivity and sufficient mechanical strength for dendrite suppression. This cellulose-confined particle percolation approach enables efficient and strong solid electrolytes for lithium batteries.

Microenvironment modulation of biocatalyst derived from natural cellulose of wheat straw for enhancing p-nitrophenol degradation via boosting peroxymonosulfate activation.

Defect-rich nitrogen-doped biocatalyst (B-NC) was synthesized from natural cellulose of wheat straw using straightforward mechanical method and one-step pyrolysis approach. In contrast to the nitrogen-doped biocatalyst (NC), by leveraging the synergistic effects of nitrogen dopants and surface defects, the microenvironment-modulated B-NC exhibited the enhanced mass transfer efficiency and a significant improvement in reactivity for p-nitrophenol degradation (111 %-196 %). The catalyst's exceptional performance primarily arose from graphitic N, pyridinic N and CO active sites, which mainly derived from the cellulose structure of wheat straw and nitrogen dopants. Electron paramagnetic resonance and quenching tests confirmed that the B-NC/peroxymonosulfate system generated more reactive species (SO4•-, •OH, O2•-, and 1O2) during p-nitrophenol degradation, surpassing the NC/peroxymonosulfate system. Additionally, both density functional theory calculations and electrochemical experiments provided evidence of peroxymonosulfate strongly adsorbing onto B-NC's defect sites, facilitating the formation of catalyst/peroxymonosulfate* complexes and promoting electron transfer processes. This research provides valuable insights into the regulation of defects in nitrogen-doped biocatalyst derived from natural cellulose, presenting a promising solution for remediating refractory organic pollutants.

In vitro modeling of hepatocellular carcinoma niche on decellularized tomato thorny leaves: a novel natural three-dimensional (3D) scaffold for liver cancer therapeutics.

Liver cancer is now one of the main causes leading to death worldwide. To achieve reliable therapeutic effects, it is crucial to develop efficient approaches to test novel anticancer drugs. Considering the significant contribution of tumor microenvironment to cell's response to medications, in vitro 3D bioinspiration of cancer cell niches can be regarded as an advanced strategy to improve the accuracy and reliability of the drug-based treatment. In this regard, decellularized plant tissues can perform as suitable 3D scaffolds for mammalian cell culture to create a near-to-real condition to test drug efficacy. Here, we developed a novel 3D natural scaffold made from decellularized tomato hairy leaves (hereafter called as DTL) to mimic the microenvironment of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for pharmaceutical purposes. The surface hydrophilicity, mechanical properties, and topography measurement and molecular analyses revealed that the 3D DTL scaffold is an ideal candidate for liver cancer modeling. The cells exhibited a higher growth and proliferation rate within the DTL scaffold, as verified by quantifying the expression of related genes, DAPI staining, and SEM imaging of the cells. Moreover, prilocaine, an anticancer drug, showed a higher effectiveness against the cancer cells cultured on the 3D DTL scaffold, compared to a 2D platform. Taken together, this new cellulosic 3D scaffold can be confidently proposed for chemotherapeutic testing of drugs on hepatocellular carcinoma.

Engineered Janus cellulose membrane with the asymmetric-pore structure for the superhigh-water flux desalination.

Membranes are the dominant material for seawater desalination and clean-water harvesting, which are commonly composed of synthetic polymers, showing low hydrophilicity and environmental hazard. Herein, we developed a low-cost, intrinsically green, superhigh-water flux Janus cellulose membrane (CEM) via a facile cellulase etching strategy. Coating cellulase on the single surface of cellulose membrane (such as top surface), triggers effective etching on its top section rather than bottom section, which architects an asymmetric-pore structure of the Janus CEM including porous top-and dense bottom-layer. Such distinction endows the Janus CEM with an unprecedented high-water flux of 135.75 LMH and a low salt-water ratio of 0.29 g·L-1 for 1 M NaCl solution, which is 17-time higher and 62-time lower than that of the pristine CEM. Our Janus CEM enables a promising participant for the advanced membrane materials toward versatile separation engineering.

Design and Engineering of Natural Cellulose Fiber-Based Biomaterials with Eucalyptus Essential Oil Retention to Replace Non-Biodegradable Delivery Systems.

This work aims at the design and engineering of sustainable biomaterials based on natural fibers to replace non-renewable fiber sources in the development of non-woven delivery systems. Cellulose fibers were used as the main support to produce multi-structured materials with the incorporation of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) as an additive. A 3D carboxymethylcellulose matrix retaining a natural bioactive product, eucalyptus essential oil, (CMC/EO), with controlled release functionalities, was also applied to these materials using bulk and spray coating methodologies. Additionally, using a 3D modeling and simulation strategy, different interest scenarios were predicted to design new formulations with improved functional properties. Overall, the results showed that MFC provided up to 5% improved strength (+48%) at the expense of reduced softness (-10%) and absorbency (-13%) and presented a good potential to be used as an additive to maximize natural eucalyptus fibers content in formulations. The addition of CMC/EO into formulations' bulk revealed better strength properties (21-28%), while its surface coating improved absorption (23-25%). This indicated that both application methods can be used in structures proposed for different sustainable applications or a more localized therapy, respectively. This optimization methodology consists of a competitive benefit to produce high-quality functionalized biomaterials for added-value applications.

Recent Advances in Development of Natural Cellulosic Non-Woven Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering.

In recent years, tissue engineering researchers have exploited a variety of biomaterials that can potentially mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) for tissue regeneration. Natural cellulose, mainly obtained from bacterial (BC) and plant-based (PC) sources, can serve as a high-potential scaffold material for different regenerative purposes. Natural cellulose has drawn the attention of researchers due to its advantages over synthetic cellulose including its availability, cost effectiveness, perfusability, biocompatibility, negligible toxicity, mild immune response, and imitation of native tissues. In this article, we review recent in vivo and in vitro studies which aimed to assess the potential of natural cellulose for the purpose of soft (skin, heart, vein, nerve, etc.) and hard (bone and tooth) tissue engineering. Based on the current research progress report, it is sensible to conclude that this emerging field of study is yet to satisfy the clinical translation criteria, though reaching that level of application does not seem far-fetched.

An innovative synthesis of MoO3/Ag nanocomposite and catalytic application of immobilized molybdenum complex on cellulose extracting from Carthamus tinctorius.

Extracted microcrystalline cellulose from Carthamus tinctorius plant was oxidized by sodium metaperiodate and a novel molybdenum schiff base complex was supported on this natural cellulose (MoSMC@MC). Then, micro biopolymer silver/ immobilized molybenum complex on natural cellulose (Ag/MoSMC@MC) was synthesized at the presence of Sesbania sesba plant and charaterized by SEM, FT-IR, TGA, and EDAX. The catalytic efficiency of Ag/MoSMC@MC was exploited as a heterogenous bio-catalyst in the selective oxidation of alcohols. The reactions were conducted using catalytic amounts of Ag/MoSMC@MC and t-BuOOH under solvent free conidtion to obtain desired aldehydes and ketones in high yields and excellent selectivity. Long-term stability and reproducibility in consecutive runs were feature of this microcomposite. At second part of this work, a novel strategy was reported to obtain green nanocomposites. Herein, addition of silver nitrate to plant solution led to the decomposition of the organic to inorganic polymer. As results, MoO3/Ag nanocomposite was prepared and its characteristics were investigated using TEM, and XRD to confirm the shape and structure.

Cellulosic fibers with high aspect ratio from cornhusks via controlled swelling and alkaline penetration.

Cellulosic fibers with high aspect ratio have been firstly obtained from cornhusks via controlled swelling in organic solvent and simultaneous tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH) post treatment within restricted depth. Cornhusks, with around 42% cellulose content, are a copious and inexpensive source for natural fibers. However, cornhusk fibers at 20tex obtained via small-molecule alkaline extraction were too coarse for textile applications. Continuous NaOH treatment would result in fine fibers but with length of about 0.5-1.5mm, too short for textile use. In this research, post treatment using TMAOH and under controlled swelling significantly reduced fineness of cornhusk fibers from 21.3±2.88 to 5.72±0.21tex. Fiber length was reduced from 105.47±10.03 to47.2±27.4mm. The cornhusk fibers had more oriented microstructures and cellulose content increased to 84.47%. Besides, cornhusk fibers had similar tenacity, longer elongation, and lower modulus compared to cotton and linen, which endowed them with durability and flexibility.

Surface modification of cellulose using silane coupling agent.

Recently there has been a growing interest in substituting traditional synthetic polymers with natural polymers for different applications. However, natural polymers such as cellulose suffer from few drawbacks. To become viable potential alternatives of synthetic polymers, cellulosic polymers must have comparable physico-chemical properties to that of synthetic polymers. So in the present work, cellulose polymer has been modified by a series of mercerization and silane functionalization to optimize the reaction conditions. Structural, thermal and morphological characterization of the cellulose has been done using FTIR, TGA and SEM, techniques. Surface modified cellulose polymers were further subjected to evaluation of their properties like swelling and chemical resistance behavior.

Graft copolymers of natural fibers for green composites.

In the present study, free radical induced graft-copolymerization of natural cellulosic polymers (Grewia optiva) has been carried out to develop the novel materials meant for green composites and many other applications. During the graft copolymer synthesis diverse reaction parameters that significantly affect the percentage of grafting were optimized. The structural, thermal and physico-chemical changes in the natural cellulosic polymers based graft copolymers have been ascertained with scanning electron micrography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and swelling studies. The swelling studies of the grafted cellulosic polymers have been carried out in different solvents to assess the possible applicability of these natural polymers. Green composites were also prepared using raw/grafted cellulosic polymers. It has been found that grafted polymers (Grewia optiva) based green composites gives better tensile properties than the parent natural cellulosic polymers based composites.