Cellulose nanocrystals have shown high Young’s modulus and aspect ratio, and are biodegradable and compatible.  Incorporation of light-active colorants, anthraquinone compounds, could bring in photo-induced antimicrobial functions to the nanomaterials. Under UV radiation or day light activation, the anthraquinone structures could produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radicals effectively in aqueous solutions. In this research, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were modified by covalently incorporating anthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid (AQC) in order to achieve antibacterial feature. The grafting ratio of AQC onto CNCs reached to 8 wt% based on the mass of the CNC. The resulted CNC-AQ demonstrated higher efficiency of ROS production in aqueous solutions under UV 365 nm exposure. Those modified CNCs can serve as both antibacterial component and reinforcing phase in many other materials.<br/>

Cellulose nanocrystals with light induced antimicrobial functions

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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