Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to review the most recent trends to produce cellulose nanoparticles and nanocomposites with biomedical applications. These particles could be named as bacterial cellulose, cellulose nanofibers, and cellulose nanocrystals. The production of these nanoparticles with diameters below 100 nm is challenging because of the strong agglomeration tendency which occur upon drying aqueous cellulose suspensions or during the compounding process with hydrophobic polymers. Typically, the physical and mechanical properties of these nanoparticles depend on the source of cellulose and the extraction process employed. Cellulose nanoparticles are obtained by mechanical, chemical, or enzymatic process treatments to open the structure of the cellulose source and facilitate accessibility to its microstructure. Usually, a combination of these processes makes the extraction more efficient. On the other hand, cellulose and polymer nanocomposites are commonly produced by techniques such as solvent evaporation, melt compounding, compression molding, impregnation, and electrospinning. The most salient nanocellulose applications discussed in this chapter deal with the production of bandages, implants, skins replacements for burnings, face masks, artificial blood vessels, cuffs for nerve surgery, drug delivery, cell carriers, and support matrices for enzyme immobilization, and silver nanoparticles as antimicrobial agents in wound dressing.