We have chemically modified cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) with furan and maleimide groups, and selectively labeled the modified CNF with fluorescent probes; 7-mercapto-4-methylcoumarin and fluorescein diacetate 5-maleimide, through two specific click chemistry reactions: Diels–Alder cycloaddition and the thiol-Michael reaction. Characterization by solid-state ¹³C NMR and infrared spectroscopy was used to follow the surface modification and estimate the substitution degrees. We demonstrate that the two luminescent dyes could be selectively labeled onto CNF, yielding a multicolor CNF that was characterized by UV/visible and fluorescence spectroscopies. It was demonstrated that the multicolor CNF could be imaged using a confocal laser scanning microscope.

Many strategies for regenerating the damaged tissues or degenerating cells are employed in regenerative medicine. Stem cell technology is a modern strategy of the recent approaches, particularly the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MCSs). The ability of MSCs to differentiate as well as their characteristic behaviour as paracrine effector has established them as key elements in tissue repair (Shaer et al., 2014¹). Recently, extracellular vesicles (EVs) shed by MSCs have emerged as a promising cell free therapy (Citation}Rani, S., Ryan, A. E., Griffin, M. D., and Ritter, T., 2015²). This comprehensive review encompasses MSCs-derived exosomes and their therapeutic potential as nanotherapeutics. We also discuss their potency as drug delivery nano-carriers in comparison with liposomes. A better knowledge of EVs behaviour in vivo and of their mechanism of action are key to determine parameters of an optimal formulation in pilot studies and to establish industrial processes.