Nanocellulose-Based Antibacterial Composites and Their Applications in Food Packaging: A Review

Cellulose is the most abundant natural polymer in nature. As the energy problem becomes increasingly serious nowadays, cellulose materials have got more and more attention. Recently, nanocellulose has become one of the key directions of nanotechnology research due to its excellent mechanical strength and chemical stability, as well as its light mass, wide availability, regenerability and biodegradability. Nanocellulose-based antibacterial composite materials have attracted extensive attention due to their excellent antibacterial properties and potential practicability and have high potential application value in the fi eld of packaging materials. In this article, the characteristics of cellulose and nanocellulose and the antibacterial materials commonly used to prepare cellulose-based antibacterial composites are reviewed together with the current status of the application of nanocellulose-based antibacterial composites in food packaging. © 2020, China Food Publishing Company. All right reserved.