Potential of cellulosics as a functional material

CELL 198

Tohru Shibata, tr_shibata@daicel.co.jp, Life Sciences Development Center, Daicel Chem.Research Center, Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd, 1239 Shinzaike, Aboshi-ku, 671-1283 Himeji, Japan
Recent topics in the functional utilization of cellulosics will be reviewed. Then the potential of cellulosics and its source will be discussed.

Separation membrane, drug excipient, optical film, chiral chromatography will be included in the topics.

While competing with synthetic material in each field of application, there is no membrane material applicable to such wide variety of use. In optical film and chiral chromatography, cellulosics are the dominant materials.

As to the last example, the mechanism of the function has been clarified by Yashima et al. for a model case. However, there seems to be still many unknown mechanisms of interaction with other molecules. Thus the problem now seems not how to mimicrize the function with synthetic way but how to optimize the performance of cellulose itself.

In combination of its unrevealed functuions with the environmental cinsiderations, cellulosics will and should be utilized even more in the future.