Nanocellulose Targets Regenerative Medicine

Abstract

The term “nanocellulose” encompasses a wide range of cellulose-derived nanomaterials, which are characterized by their diverse morphologies and chemical structures at the nanometer scale. In recent years, there has been a remarkable increase in the use of nanocellulose in regenerative medicine. Of particular interest is the in vitro culture of pluripotent stem cells, which has led to a growing demand for animal-free media and scaffolds in stem cell culture. Extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a pivotal role in regulating the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells, with fibrous collagen and glycosaminoglycans serving as structural and functional supports. In this context, nanocellulose has garnered significant interest as potential ECM mimetics, due to its rigid fiber form and its regular interfacial structures. The use of natural polysaccharide nanofibers would represent a promising avenue for the functional design of animal-free cell culture scaffolds, with the potential to significantly advance the regulation of stem cell culture in regenerative medicine.