Nanocellulose Hydrogel for Blood Typing Tests.

The gel test is the most prevalent method for the forward and reverse blood typing tests. It relies on the controlled centrifugation of red blood cells (RBCs) and antibodies through a gel column. This noncontinuous matrix is currently based on microbeads that often lack sensitivity.

Nanocellulose for gel electrophoresis.

Hypothesis: Cellulose nanofibres produced by TEMPO-mediated oxidation can form gels. This study presents a proof-of-concept for gel electrophoresis with nanocellulose (NC).

Experiments: TEMPO-oxidised cellulose nanofibre dispersion is chemically cross-linked by inducing amide linkages to produce gel slabs for electrophoretic separation.

Carboxylated nanocellulose foams as superabsorbents.

Hypothesis: Carboxylated nanocellulose fibres formed into foam structures can demonstrate superabsorption capacity. Their performance can be engineered by changing process variables.

Experiments: TEMPO-oxidised cellulose nanofibres of varying concentration and surface charge are produced from hardwood kraft pulp.

Pickering Emulsions Electrostatically Stabilized by Cellulose Nanocrystals.

Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNC) are explored to stabilize oil/water emulsions for their ability to adsorb at the oil/water interface. In this work, the role of electrostatic forces in the CNC ability to stabilize oil/water emulsions is explored using canola oil/water and hexadecane/water as model systems. Canola oil/water and Hexadecane/ water (20/80, v/v) emulsions were stabilized with the addition of CNCs using ultrasonication.

Effects of fibre dimension and charge density on nanocellulose gels.

Hypothesis: Carboxylated cellulose nanofibres can produce gels at low concentrations. The effect of pulp source on the nanocellulose fibre dimension and gel rheology are studied. It is hypothesised that fibre length and surface charge influence aspects of the gel rheological properties.

Gelation mechanism of cellulose nanofibre gels: A colloids and interfacial perspective.

Hypothesis: Nanocellulose gels form a new category of sustainable soft materials of industrial interest for a wide range of applications. There is a need to map the rheological properties and understand the mechanism which provides the colloidal stability and gelation of these nanofibre suspensions.

Experiments: TEMPO (2,2,6,6,-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl)-oxidised cellulose nanofibre gels were investigated at different fibre concentrations, pH and ionic strength.