Université de Fribourg

Elucidating the potential biological impact of cellulose nanocrystals

Camarero-Espinosa, Sandra ; Endes, Carola ; Mueller, Silvana ; Petri-Fink, Alke ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara ; Weder, Christoph ; Clift, Martin James David ; Foster, E. Johan

In: Fibers, 2016, vol. 4, no. 3, p. 21

Cellulose nanocrystals exhibit an interesting combination of mechanical properties and physical characteristics, which make them potentially useful for a wide range of consumer applications. However, as the usage of these bio-based nanofibers increases, a greater understanding of human exposure addressing their potential health issues should be gained. The aim of this perspective is to...

Université de Fribourg

Fate of cellulose nanocrystal aerosols deposited on the lung cell surface in vitro

Endes, Carola ; Mueller, Silvana ; Kinnear, Calum ; Vanhecke, Dimitri ; Foster, E. Johan ; Petri-Fink, Alke ; Weder, Christoph ; Clift, Martin J. D. ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara

In: Biomacromolecules, 2015, vol. 16, no. 4, p. 1267–1275

When considering the inhalation of high-aspect ratio nanoparticles (HARN), the characterization of their specific interaction with lung cells is of fundamental importance to help categorize their potential hazard. The aim of the present study was to assess the interaction of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) with a multicellular in vitro model of the epithelial airway barrier following realistic...

Université de Fribourg

Healable Supramolecular Polymer Solids

Montero de Espinosa, Lucas ; Fiore, Gina L. ; Weder, Christoph ; Foster, E. Johan ; Simon, Yoan C.

In: Progress in Polymer Science, 2015, vol. 49-50, p. 60-78

The reversible nature of non-covalent interactions between constituting building blocks permits one to temporarily disassemble supramolecular polymers through the application of an appropriate external stimulus “on command”. This framework has recently emerged as a general design strategy for the development of healable polymer systems. The approach exploits that the temporary disassembly...