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Biopolymer nanofibrils: structure, modeling, preparation, and applications.
Shengjie Ling1,2,3, Wenshuai Chen4, Yimin Fan5
1School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 201210, China.
Progress in Polymer Science
|January 10, 2020
Summary
Biopolymer nanofibrils, including cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and chitin nanofibrils (ChNFs), offer remarkable strength and toughness. Research explores their preparation and diverse applications, leveraging their renewable and biocompatible properties.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Biotechnology
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Biopolymer nanofibrils possess unique hierarchical structures, providing exceptional mechanical properties and biological functions.
- Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), chitin nanofibrils (ChNFs), silk nanofibrils (SNFs), and collagen nanofibrils (CoNFs) are abundant, renewable, and biocompatible materials.
- Their nanoscale hierarchical structures are key to their advanced properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the structures and computational models of natural biopolymer nanofibrils.
- To explore preparation methods for key biopolymer nanofibrils.
- To discuss emerging applications of these versatile nanomaterials.
Main Methods:
- Summarizing natural biopolymer nanofibril structures and computational models.
- Reviewing top-down and bottom-up strategies for nanofibril exfoliation and regeneration.
- Compiling information on the preparation of CNFs, ChNFs, SNFs, and CoNFs.
Main Results:
- Biopolymer nanofibrils exhibit a unique combination of strength and toughness due to their hierarchical structures.
- CNFs, ChNFs, SNFs, and CoNFs are focus of research due to their renewability, availability, low cost, biocompatibility, and biodegradability.
- Various methods exist for preparing these nanofibrils for advanced applications.
Conclusions:
- Understanding structure-property relationships is crucial for harnessing biopolymer nanofibrils.
- Advanced preparation techniques enable the utilization of these natural supramolecular assemblies.
- Biopolymer nanofibrils hold significant potential for diverse future applications.
