Nanocellulose is recognized as a versatile ’biobased functional material’ for environmental applications and hybridising nanocellulose with other earth abundant materials from graphene, silica or clay family could lead to a new generation of membranes, filters and adsorbents. In spite of the tremendous potential of this

technology, it was also identified in our research that there are no suitable and direct tools/ methodologies to understand the mechanism of interactions/self-assembling/ clustering/ fouling in nanocellulose based memebranes. Experimental procedures to probe biobased hybrids in liquid medium/ wet conditions using atomic force

microscopy and spectroscopy and in situ X-ray scattering , combined with computational chemistry is envisioned in the project to evaluate and predict the self-assembling between nanocellulose and other nanoparticles and understand how the self-assembled morphologies drive the pore structure formation and adsorption. Once validated, the methodologies and tools developed in the project can be extended to probe surface interactions under in situ conditions for materials / devices driven by surface charge.

With a vision to address global sustainability challenges, the Mistra TerraClean program will use naturally occurring and commercially important raw materials indigenous to Sweden, such as (nano)cellulose and mesoporous inorganic materials invented and developed in Sweden, to develop smart materials for removal of chemical wastes and pollutants from ambient water and air in the environment and industrial effluents. The program will integrate strong research and innovation environments in the Stockholm-Uppsala region to a national hub capable to provide expertise required to set necessary momentum and advance smart materials science beyond the current state-of-the-art. Urgent and timely problems in Sweden are addressed but at the same time the program will drive solutions to filtering problems on a global scale.

Nanotextured surfaces are densely covered with very small structures, such as dots, fibrils, cones or holes that have their smallest dimension in the nano-scale, from 0.1 nm to 100 nm. Nanotextured surfaces in general have unique physical, optical, electric, and magnetic properties that make them attractive for a wide range of applications. The patterns and architectures for durable nanostructured end-products in this project are created with different nano-scaled materials e.g. nanobiomaterials that are applied with different surface treatment application techniques, such as cast coating, foam coating, or screen-printing. Surface treatment line offers a possibility to trial new surface treatments for special applications with small material demands for fiber based, textile and plastic materials compared to traditional pilot machines.
 
The NanoTextSurf project, a 3-year project launched in November 2017, focuses on manufacturing technologies of these surfaces with nano-scaled materials. The goal is to upgrade and optimize existing pilot lines, and use them to demonstrate of novel nanotextured surfaces.

The aim of the project is to establish a fruitful collaboration and exchange of knowledge/expertise between Swedish and Indian material scientists and medical team to develop polymer based bioglass scaffold, cellulose nanocomposite

membranes and hydrogels for wound and dental care and also joint supervision of a PhD students and master students on this topic . This membranes and hydrogels will be used in combination with bioglass filler to facilitate body's natural healing and provide pain relief, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties for periodontic surgical and chronic wounds. The proposed research aims to develop biobased solutions for dental care and contribute to a significant improvement in dental care at affordable price in both developing as well as in developed countries.

Main grant holder at Stockholm University.

Main grant holder at Stockholm Univeristy.

EU agricultural industry sustainability depends to a major extent on its capability to introduce new, ready to eat fresh and composite fruit and vegetable products. This, in turn, requires significant improvement in produce cleaning and packaging technologies to ensure food quality and safety, reduced input of water/energy and enhancing waste recyclability. Fresh cut vegetables and fruit present stringent challenges due to the ir intrinsic perishability. The loss due to microbiological spoilage is a major concern in a market focused on international trade. Proper disinfection technology is required to ensure microbial safety avoiding at the same time the formation of disinfection by  products such as chlorinated chemicals. The quality of fresh cut products also depends critically on packaging technology, which has to preserve good appearance and flavour, as well as meet safety requirements. The improvements in resource efficiency will be achieved by exploring solutions provided by advances in nanotechnology. Specifically design of membrane operations aimed at reducing the dose of disinfectant agents and saving water by improving recyclability. A new generation of ultrafiltration membranes including biocidal functionalization with the aim of limiting biofouling and controlling the level of pathogens in process water will be designed. The incorporation of  nanoparticlebased active coatings in ceramic modules is intended to allow operation under strong oxidizing conditions provided by ozone. For it, ozone is to be produced by pulsed corona discharge, which is an energy efficient process. The use of  nanotechnology to improve packaging by reducing the amount of raw polymers as well as costs for transportation, storage and recycling is also to be addressed. Residues from food processing will be used to produce nanocellulose. The evaluation of these new approaches will be performed using environmental and economic life cycle assessment according to International Standards

The NanoSelect project's aim was to design, develop and optimize novel bio-based nanostructured polymer based membranes/adsorbents/filters with specific selectivity using surface active entities like nanocellulose, nanochitin and combinations thereof. These materials may be categorized as nano-enhanced membranes and used for decentralized industrial and domestic water treatments. Highly efficient water treatment products was attained via engineering permeable nanomembranes or nanoporous filters (based on existing nanostructured membrane, NSM technology) and further tailoring their ability to interact and selectively adsorb/store and desorb heavy metal ions, toxic chemicals and/or bacteria using nanoenabled membrane, (NEM) technologies. In the current project, we developed novel water purification strategies that employ bio-based nanoparticles to combine mechanisms of physical filtration, surface adsorption and a combination thereof, using biobased nanoparticles.

Nano-POlySaccharide containing Scaffolds with Controlled pOrosity and deGradability.