Cellulose Nanofibrils: Studying the biocompatibility of the next-gen bio-nano-material

Co-author(s): Shokoufeh Mehrtashfar, Josefin Illergård, Anne Finne-Wistrand, Daniel Söderberg

Cellulose Nanofibrils (CNF) have been heralded as a highly promising biomaterial across various fields owing to their superior mechanical properties, while also being sustainable and biodegradable. This biomatieral also holds immense promise in the field of medical sciences thanks to its nanofibrillar structure that closely resembles the extracellular matrix. Furthermore, CNF can be highly functionalized to fit the need, thereby making it an ideal candidate for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. CNF could also prove to be an immaculate option to be used for controlled drug release. With a lot of feathers to its hat, perhaps the most important requirement of CNF to serve as the perfect biomaterial for medical applications would be to exhibit high level of cell viability with low to no cytotoxicity. In this study, we study the cell viability of Human Dermal Fibroblasts when exposed to TEMPO-oxidised CNF at various charges and concentrations by performing an Alamar Blue assay. The results from this study proves that CNF not only maintains cellular metabolic activity but also displays no cytotoxic effects at higher concentrations. This remarkable biocompatibility, together with its versatility in functionalization and fabrication, reinforces its potential for being utilised in various medical applications like tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, wound dressing and controlled drug release.