Abstract

The Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology “Leitat Chile” was born through the collaboration between the Chilean government and Leitat Technological center in Spain. The mission of the Leitat Chile is to collaborate with Private companies and other entities in Chile in order to create economic, social and sustainable value through creative and innovative Research and Development (R&D) projects and technological processes focused on nanotechnologies in four main sectors: (i) mining and environment, (ii) aquaculture, (iii) agri-food and (iv) forest. Nanocellulose has been the subject of extensive research during the last years. This is due to the wide range of potential applications that have been attributed to the material, including strength enhancement in paper and bionanocomposities, as an oxygen barrier in food packaging, biomedical applications, viscosity enhancers among others. The development of nanocomposites based on nanocellulosic materials is a rather new, however this is evolving quickly. This research area could potentiate the forest sector in Chile. Our research will focus on the development of biorefinery and production of nanostructured cellulose (microfibrillated cellulose or cellulose nanofibers from native cellulose). Particularly, we will work in the surface functionalization of cellulose nanofibers to facilitate self-assembly and to control dispersion within a wide range of matrix polymers. These modifications will enable a wide range of applications, such as barrier films, reinforcing fillers for polymers, biomedical implants, pharmaceutical and drug delivery.