Cellulose Nanofiber Alignment Using Evaporation-Induced Droplet-Casting, and Cell Alignment on Aligned Nanocellulose Surfaces.

This work investigates droplet-evaporated cellulose nanofiber (CNF) alignment and cell responses on CNF surfaces. Surfaces of unmodified (u-), anionic (a-), and cationic (c-) CNFs were fabricated using an evaporation-induced droplet-casting method and characterized in terms of degree of orientation. Circular variance (CV) values obtained using Cytospectre software to analyze the degree of orientation from AFM images showed a significantly higher degree of orientation on c- and u-CNF surfaces (average CV 0.27 and 0.24, respectively) compared to a-CNF surfaces (average CV 0.76). Quantitative analysis of surface roughness plots obtained from AFM images confirmed the difference between the direction of alignment versus the direction perpendicular to alignment. AFM images as well as observations during droplet evaporation indicated c-CNF alignment parallel to a dry-boundary line during droplet evaporation. Fibroblasts were cultured on the u-, a-, and c-CNF surfaces with or without a fibronectin (FN) coating for 48 h, and the cell response was evaluated in terms of cell viability, proliferation, morphology, and degree of orientation. Cell viability and proliferation were comparable to that on a control surface on the a-CNF and c-CNF surfaces. Although an FN coating slightly enhanced cell growth on the studied surfaces, uncoated a-CNF and c-CNF surfaces were able to support cell growth as well. The results showed cell orientation on aligned c-CNF surfaces, a finding that could be further utilized when guiding the growth of cells. We also showed that the alignment direction of c-CNFs and thus the cell orientation direction can be controlled with a contact-dispensing technique.

Cellulose Nanofibril Film as a Piezoelectric Sensor Material.

Self-standing films (45 µm thick) of native cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were synthesized and characterized for their piezoelectric response. The surface and the microstructure of the films were evaluated with image-based analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The measured dielectric properties of the films at 1 kHz and 9.97 GHz indicated a relative permittivity of 3.47 and 3.38 and loss tangent tan Î´ of 0.011 and 0.071, respectively. The films were used as functional sensing layers in piezoelectric sensors with corresponding sensitivities of 4.7-6.4 pC/N in ambient conditions. This piezoelectric response is expected to increase remarkably upon film polarization resulting from the alignment of the cellulose crystalline regions in the film. The CNF sensor characteristics were compared with those of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as reference piezoelectric polymer. Overall, the results suggest that CNF is a suitable precursor material for disposable piezoelectric sensors, actuators, or energy generators with potential applications in the fields of electronics, sensors, and biomedical diagnostics.