Hydrogels based on cellulose comprising many organic biopolymers including cellulose, chitin, and chitosan are the hydrophilic material, which can absorb and retain a huge proportion of water in the interstitial sites of their structures. These polymers feature many amazing properties such as responsiveness to pH, time, temperature, chemical species and biological conditions besides a very high-water absorption capacity. Biopolymer hydrogels can be manipulated and crafted for numerous applications leading to a tremendous boom in research during recent times in scientific communities. With the growing environmental concerns and an emergent demand, researchers throughout the globe are concentrating particularly on naturally derived hydrogels due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability and abundance. Cellulose-based hydrogels are considered as useful biocompatible materials to be used in medical devices to treat, augment or replace any tissue, organ, or help function of the body. These hydrogels also hold a great promise for applications in agricultural activity, as smart materials and some other useful industrial purposes. This review offers an overview of the recent and contemporary research regarding physiochemical properties of cellulose-based hydrogels along with their applications in multidisciplinary areas including biomedical fields such as drug delivery, tissue engineering and wound healing, healthcare and hygienic products as well as in agriculture, textiles and industrial applications as smart materials. Graphical abstract

Protection is obligatory for the safety of people in certain occupations where they might be exposed to hazardous chemicals. This review provides an overview of chemical protective clothing, along with its necessity during industrial and military operations as well as in response to acts of terror. Moreover, chemical protective or barrier suits are illustrated and explained including their types, selection processes based on chemical hazards, working environments, and various materials available for the fabrication of effective barrier clothing. Additionally, this review elucidates current research gaps, while underscoring the challenges facing recently developed chemical protective clothing, by compiling relevant research onto a single platform. Besides, this review includes and delineates future trends in chemical protective outfits based on electro-spun nano-fibre technology involved in both detection and decomposition of poisonous chemical agents that come in contact with clothing material, and the integration of selectively permeable membrane technology to discriminately block hazardous chemicals.