Nath Pinku Chandra, Debnath Shubhankar, Sharma Minaxi, Sridhar Kandi, Nayak Prakash Kumar, Inbaraj Baskaran Stephen
Department of Bio Engineering, National Institute of Technology Agartala, Jirania 799046, India.
Haute Ecole Provinciale de Hainaut-Condorcet, 7800 Ath, Belgium.
Foods. 2023 Jan 11;12(2):350. doi: 10.3390/foods12020350.
In the past couple of years, cellulose has attracted a significant amount of attention and research interest due to the fact that it is the most abundant and renewable source of hydrogels. With increasing environmental issues and an emerging demand, researchers around the world are focusing on naturally produced hydrogels in particular due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and abundance. Hydrogels are three-dimensional (3D) networks created by chemically or physically crosslinking linear (or branching) hydrophilic polymer molecules. Hydrogels have a high capacity to absorb water and biological fluids. Although hydrogels have been widely used in food applications, the majority of them are not biodegradable. Because of their functional characteristics, cellulose-based hydrogels (CBHs) are currently utilized as an important factor for different aspects in the food industry. Cellulose-based hydrogels have been extensively studied in the fields of food packaging, functional food, food safety, and drug delivery due to their structural interchangeability and stimuli-responsive properties. This article addresses the sources of CBHs, types of cellulose, and preparation methods of the hydrogel as well as the most recent developments and uses of cellulose-based hydrogels in the food processing sector. In addition, information regarding the improvement of edible and functional CBHs was discussed, along with potential research opportunities and possibilities. Finally, CBHs could be effectively used in the industry of food processing for the aforementioned reasons.
在过去几年里，纤维素因其是水凝胶最丰富且可再生的来源而备受关注并引发了大量研究兴趣。随着环境问题日益突出以及新需求的出现，世界各地的研究人员尤其关注天然产生的水凝胶，因为它们具有生物相容性、可生物降解性且储量丰富。水凝胶是通过化学或物理交联线性（或支化）亲水性聚合物分子形成的三维（3D）网络。水凝胶具有高吸水和吸收生物流体的能力。尽管水凝胶已广泛应用于食品领域，但其中大多数不可生物降解。基于纤维素的水凝胶（CBHs）因其功能特性，目前在食品工业的不同方面被视为一个重要因素。由于其结构互换性和刺激响应特性，基于纤维素的水凝胶在食品包装、功能食品、食品安全和药物递送等领域得到了广泛研究。本文探讨了基于纤维素的水凝胶的来源、纤维素的类型、水凝胶的制备方法以及基于纤维素的水凝胶在食品加工领域的最新发展和应用。此外，还讨论了有关可食用和功能性基于纤维素的水凝胶改进的信息，以及潜在的研究机会和可能性。最后，基于上述原因，基于纤维素的水凝胶可有效地应用于食品加工行业。
