Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Nanocellulose as Sustainable Bio-Nanomaterial for Packaging and Biomedical Applications

This review examines the potential of nanocellulose, a material derived from plant fibers, as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics in packaging and biomedical applications. Researchers found that nanocellulose can provide effective moisture and gas barriers when used in paper-based packaging, reducing the need for plastic coatings. The study highlights nanocellulose as a biodegradable, renewable material that could help address both plastic waste and food preservation challenges.

2024 Scientific and Social Research 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Renewable cellulosic nanocomposites for food packaging to avoid fossil fuel plastic pollution: a review

Researchers reviewed how cellulose nanoparticles extracted from plant biomass can replace petroleum-based plastics in food packaging, finding that adding just 1–5% cellulose nanoparticles significantly improves strength, reduces oxygen and water vapor permeability, and keeps packaging biodegradable. The review positions cellulose nanocomposites as a scalable, eco-friendly alternative to fossil-fuel plastics that contribute to microplastic pollution.

2020 Environmental Chemistry Letters 222 citations
Review Tier 2

A Review on the Modification of Cellulose and Its Applications

This review summarizes recent advances in cellulose modification techniques and applications, including its use as a sustainable alternative to synthetic polymers. The study discusses how modified cellulose materials could help address plastic pollution by providing biodegradable substitutes for conventional plastic products.

2022 Polymers 417 citations
Article Tier 2

Free standing nanocellulose films – fabrication methods, surface engineering and recyclability

This review examines fabrication methods, surface engineering approaches, and recyclability of free-standing nanocellulose films, highlighting their potential as sustainable alternatives to synthetic plastic films across various applications.

2025 Asian Engineering Review
Article Tier 2

Recent Advances in Cellulose Nanofiber Modification and Characterization and Cellulose Nanofiber-Based Films for Eco-Friendly Active Food Packaging

This review covers advances in cellulose nanofibers, a plant-based material being developed as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic food packaging. These nanofibers are biodegradable, can be extracted from agricultural waste, and can be enhanced with antimicrobial or barrier properties. Replacing conventional plastic packaging with bio-based films like these could help reduce the microplastic contamination that enters the food supply.

2024 Foods 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanocellulose Coating on Kraft Paper

This paper is not directly about microplastics — it evaluates nanofibrillated cellulose coatings on kraft paper as a biodegradable alternative to plastic-based food packaging coatings, finding improvements in barrier properties, density, and mechanical strength.

2023 Coatings 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Advances in Cellulose-Based Packaging Films for Food Products

This review covers recent advances in cellulose-based packaging films as sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, examining how different cellulose structures and derivatives enable versatile film properties for food packaging applications.

2023 IntechOpen eBooks 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Cellulose nanofibers/polyvinyl alcohol blends as an efficient coating to improve the hydrophobic and oleophobic properties of paper

Researchers developed a paper coating made from cellulose nanofibers and polyvinyl alcohol and found it significantly improved paper's resistance to both water and grease while also increasing tensile strength, offering a potentially more sustainable alternative to the plastic-based coatings currently used in food packaging.

2022 Scientific Reports 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Lignocellulose-Based Materials for Food Packaging: A Biorefinery Perspective

Not directly relevant to microplastics — this review focuses on lignocellulose-based (paper and cardboard) materials as sustainable alternatives for food packaging, mentioning microplastics only briefly as a motivation for reducing conventional plastic use.

2023 Materials research foundations
Article Tier 2

Leveraging IntrinsicHemicellulose in Cellulose Nanopaperfor Enhanced Nanoplastic Collection

Researchers demonstrated that cellulose nanopaper assembled from cellulose nanofibrils containing intrinsic hemicellulose can efficiently capture diversified nanoplastics from aqueous environments through interfacial adsorption and physical interception, leveraging the hierarchical lignocellulose microstructure for enhanced nanoplastic collection.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Nanocellulose Bio-Based Composites for Food Packaging

This review explores the use of nanocellulose-based bio-composites as sustainable alternatives to synthetic plastic packaging in the food industry. Researchers found that nanocellulose materials offer improved mechanical strength, barrier properties, and biodegradability compared to conventional plastics. The study highlights how these plant-derived materials could help reduce plastic packaging waste while maintaining food quality and safety standards.

2020 Nanomaterials 194 citations
Article Tier 2

Surface and Interface Engineering for Nanocellulosic Advanced Materials

This review examines how nanocellulose — nanoscale fibrils derived from plant cell walls — can be engineered for surface and interface properties to create strong, sustainable materials as alternatives to petroleum-based plastics.

2020 Advanced Materials 469 citations
Article Tier 2

Controlled surface acetylation of cellulosics to tune biodegradability while expanding their use towards common petrochemical-based plastics

Not relevant to microplastics — this study demonstrates surface acetylation of cellulose paper fibers to improve wet strength and moisture resistance while maintaining biodegradability, positioned as an alternative to petrochemical plastics.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Aqueous Dispersions from Wood-Derived Biopolymers for Barrier and Packaging Applications

This thesis explored wood-derived biopolymers as sustainable alternatives to synthetic packaging polymers, examining their structural and barrier properties and their potential to replace polyethylene, PVC, and polystyrene in packaging applications while avoiding microplastic pollution.

2025 Åbo Akademi University Research Portal
Article Tier 2

Leveraging Intrinsic Hemicellulose in Cellulose Nanopaper for Enhanced Nanoplastic Collection

Researchers developed a cellulose-based nanopaper that can efficiently capture nanoplastics from water using natural hemicellulose as a key component. The hemicellulose enhances the paper's ability to adsorb plastic nanoparticles through stronger molecular interactions and creates a porous structure that works well under flowing water conditions. As a bonus, the used nanopaper loaded with captured plastics can be recycled into high-performance composite materials.

2025 ACS Nano 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent Advances in Chemically Modified Cellulose and Its Derivatives for Food Packaging Applications: A Review

This review examined recent advances in chemically modified cellulose and its derivatives for food packaging applications, highlighting how cellulose-based biodegradable materials can replace petroleum-based plastics while discussing challenges in moisture barrier and mechanical properties.

2022 Polymers 95 citations
Article Tier 2

A multifunctional biogenic films and coatings from synergistic aqueous dispersion of wood-derived suberin and cellulose nanofibers

Researchers developed multifunctional bio-based packaging films and coatings using suberin, an industrial byproduct, stabilized with amphiphilic cellulose nanofibers. The resulting materials demonstrated UV shielding and antimicrobial properties while serving as effective food packaging. The study presents a sustainable alternative to conventional plastic packaging that could help reduce microplastic pollution from packaging degradation.

2024 Carbohydrate Polymers 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Low-Quality Coffee Beans Used as a Novel Biomass Source of Cellulose Nanocrystals: Extraction and Application in Sustainable Packaging

Researchers developed bio-based methylcellulose films reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) extracted from low-quality coffee beans as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastic food packaging. The extracted CNCs showed needle-like morphology (~221 nm length), 65.75% crystallinity, and good thermal stability, providing a promising path to reduce microplastic accumulation in food chains.

2025 Resources
Article Tier 2

Preparation and Characterization of Cellulose Nanoparticles from Agricultural Wastes and Their Application in Polymer Composites

Researchers developed eco-sustainable bio-nanocomposite materials by extracting cellulose nanoparticles from agricultural waste such as rapeseed straw, demonstrating their potential as renewable, biodegradable alternatives to synthetic nanomaterials.

2023 Scholars International Journal of Chemistry and Material Sciences 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of pulp prehydrolysis conditions on dissolution and regenerated cellulose pore structure

Researchers investigated how pre-treating wood pulp with acid hydrolysis affects the quality of regenerated cellulose films — a biodegradable alternative to synthetic plastic films. Lowering the cellulose chain length through hydrolysis dramatically improved how well the pulp dissolved and changed the porosity of the final film, with important implications for designing plant-based packaging materials.

2023 Cellulose 22 citations
Article Tier 2

In Situ Synthesis of Plasticized Bacterial Cellulose Films for Daily Packaging Using Biobased Plasticizers

Researchers synthesized plasticized bacterial cellulose films in situ and characterized their mechanical, optical, and barrier properties for daily packaging applications, finding the bio-based materials offered competitive performance with lower environmental impact than petroleum-based alternatives.

2025 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Bio-Based Materials for Packaging

This review evaluates bio-based materials as sustainable alternatives for plastic packaging, examining the environmental performance, mechanical properties, and commercial viability of biopolymers in addressing the global plastic pollution crisis.

2022 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Surface and Reducing End Modification of Nanocellulose to Tailor Miscibility and Mechanical Performance of Reinforced Elastomer Sustainable Composites

This paper is not primarily about microplastics. It describes the development of nanocellulose-reinforced rubber composites as sustainable alternatives to address plastic pollution, including ocean plastic. While the motivation relates to reducing plastic waste, the study itself focuses on polymer materials science and composite engineering rather than microplastic contamination or human health exposure.

2024 Nanotechnology and nanomaterials. 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Moving Toward Paperization of Packaging Industry: Use of Laponite and Montmorillonite Nanoclays for Recyclable and Biodegradable High-Barrier Paper

Researchers developed a biodegradable paper coating using polyvinyl alcohol and nanoclays (laponite and montmorillonite) that achieves oxygen barrier performance nine times better than PET plastic film. This work is directly relevant to microplastic pollution because replacing conventional plastic packaging with biodegradable, non-microplastic-forming alternatives is a key strategy for reducing environmental plastic loads.

2026 ACS Omega