Engineering Nanocellulose 3D Printed Materials—From Controlled Anisotropic Structures to a Platform for Living Materials

Shaping polymer-based nanocellulose materials into complex architectures is challenging but desirable in many applications. One of the main challenges is the design of inks that combine viscoelastic responses and high dispersion degree of the anisotropic nanocellulose particles in varied solvents or monomers.<br/>In our group, we investigate the development of polymer-based inks containing cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and/or nanofibers (CNFs) which act as both reinforcing elements and as organic biodegradable rheological modifiers in the systems. In this direction, we demonstrate how to create stiff, soft or porous 3D printed cellular-structures, as hydrogels and aerogels, and how to fine-tune their mechanical properties taking advantage of the shear-induced orientation resulting from the anisotropic components in the inks. In another research front, we explore the encapsulation of microorganisms, such as microalgae, within multifunctional hydrogels that supports the growth and proliferation of those cells by designing a set of inks and printing platforms that allow shaping them in complex functional 3D structures.<br/>The simplicity and universality of our approaches makes them highly attractive for applications that require tailored mechanical properties or cell-protected environment for the production of functional materials or devices for sensing, structural and thermal purposes.