Cellulose derivatives nanomaterial of future materials

Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) is the most widely used cellulose ether especially in food exploration, paper, textile and pharmaceutical industries. High-purity grades are employed as food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals additives1,2. Physical or chemical crosslinking through reaction with reactive functional groups such as hydroxyl and carboxyl of CMC, allowing for further modification or functionalization of CMC. Various chemical reactions have been employed to synthesise the cross-linked CMCs, namely radical polymerisation (irradiation), and crosslinking using small molecule cross-linkers. Furthermore, each chemical crosslinking strategy will define the porosity, swelling, and mechanical behaviours of the cross-linked CMC, depending on the intended applications. The research directions are to develop biodegradable polymers for compostable control release of active agents for various industrial applications such as drug delivery, tissue engineering and wound healing, and antimicrobial medical devices, adsorbents in wastewater treatment, functional food, fertilizer carriers cum super-absorbents.