A biopolymer fiber containing collagen. The biopolymer fiber has excellent ultimate tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and strain at break comparable to native human tendons and ligaments. The fiber may substantially circular, ovoid, square, rectangular, ribbon-like, triangular, or irregularly shaped. The fiber exhibits an ordered, longitudinally-oriented structure, and the fiber allows infiltration of cellular growth. Implantable biopolymer scaffolds and sutures containing the fibers are provided as well as microfluidic and extrusion methods for producing the biopolymer fibers.

The invention relates to a process for producing carbon fibers from cellulosic fibers, characterized in that cellulosic fibers, which contain a sulfonic acid salt of formula (I), wherein R.sup.1 represents a hydrocarbon group and K.sup.+ represents a cation, are converted into carbon fibers.

The invention relates to a process for producing carbon fibers from cellulosic fibers, characterized in that cellulosic fibers, which contain a sulfonic acid salt of formula (I), wherein R.sup.1 represents a hydrocarbon group and K.sup.+ represents a cation, are converted into carbon fibers.

Provided is a method for producing a chemically modified cellulose fiber with which fibrillation can be performed along with sulfation reaction.

The method for producing a chemically modified cellulose fiber includes a step (a) of treating a cellulose fiber with sulfamic acid to allow a cellulose fine fiber which is a constituent of the cellulose fiber to react with the sulfamic acid, thereby substituting some of hydroxyl groups of cellulose with a substituent represented by a structural formula (1) below (where M represents a monovalent to trivalent cation), and a step (b) of performing fibrillation simultaneously with the step (a).

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Provided is a method for producing a chemically modified cellulose fiber with which fibrillation can be performed along with sulfation reaction.

The method for producing a chemically modified cellulose fiber includes a step (a) of treating a cellulose fiber with sulfamic acid to allow a cellulose fine fiber which is a constituent of the cellulose fiber to react with the sulfamic acid, thereby substituting some of hydroxyl groups of cellulose with a substituent represented by a structural formula (1) below (where M represents a monovalent to trivalent cation), and a step (b) of performing fibrillation simultaneously with the step (a).

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The present invention relates to a method for producing fine hydrophobically modified cellulose fibers wherein anionic group-containing anionically modified cellulose fibers are bound to a modifying group, the method including subjecting hydrophobically modified cellulose fibers having an average fiber length of 1 m or more and 1,000 m or less to a finely pulverizing treatment in an organic solvent. The fine hydrophobically modified cellulose fibers obtained by the method for production of the present invention can be suitably used in various resin manufactured articles for daily sundries, household electric appliance parts, wrapping materials for household electric appliance parts, and various industrial applications such as automobile parts.

A method for producing shortened anionically modified cellulose fibers having an average fiber length of 1 m or more and 500 m or less, the method including cleaving sugar chains of anionically modified cellulose fibers by thermal decomposition under temperature conditions of 50 C. or higher and 230 C. or lower, wherein the average fiber length of the anionically modified cellulose fibers is 700 m or more and 10000 m or less. By the use of shortened anionically modified cellulose fibers or the like obtained by the method for production of the present invention, a dispersion containing fine cellulose fibers having a low viscosity and excellent handling property can be prepared while at a high concentration, so that the dispersion can be suitably used in various industrial applications such as daily sundries, household electric appliance parts, packaging materials for household electric appliances, automobile parts, and materials for three-dimensional modeling.

A method for producing shortened anionically modified cellulose fibers having an average fiber length of 1 m or more and 500 m or less, the method including cleaving sugar chains of anionically modified cellulose fibers by thermal decomposition under temperature conditions of 50 C. or higher and 230 C. or lower, wherein the average fiber length of the anionically modified cellulose fibers is 700 m or more and 10000 m or less. By the use of shortened anionically modified cellulose fibers or the like obtained by the method for production of the present invention, a dispersion containing fine cellulose fibers having a low viscosity and excellent handling property can be prepared while at a high concentration, so that the dispersion can be suitably used in various industrial applications such as daily sundries, household electric appliance parts, packaging materials for household electric appliances, automobile parts, and materials for three-dimensional modeling.

Provided is a fabric comprising a layer of yarns combined (by weaving, braiding, knitting, or non-woven) to form the fabric wherein the yarns comprise one or a plurality of graphene-based long or continuous fibers. The long or continuous fiber comprises chemically functionalized graphene sheets that are chemically bonded with one another having an inter-planar spacing d.sub.002 from 0.36 nm to 1.5 nm as determined by X-ray diffraction and a non-carbon element content of 0.1% to 40% by weight, wherein the functionalized graphene sheets are substantially parallel to one another and parallel to the fiber axis direction and the fiber contains no core-shell structure, have no helically arranged graphene domains, and have a length no less than 0.5 cm and a physical density from 1.5 to 2.25 g/cm.sup.3. The graphene fiber typically has a thermal conductivity from 300 to 1,600 W/mK, an electrical conductivity from 600 to 15,000 S/cm, or a tensile strength higher than 1.0 GPa.

The present disclosure is directed to an oil-infused bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) material including a porous body comprising a three-dimensional network of bacterial nanocellulose fibers defining a plurality of interconnected pores; and, an oil infused within the plurality of pores. The present disclosure additionally describes a method of preparing an oil-infused BNC material that includes fermenting bacteria to form a porous body of bacterial nanocellulose fibers having a three-dimensional network defining a plurality of interconnected pores; mechanically pressing the porous body; dehydrating the porous body; and infusing the porous body with an oil infusion fluid including an oil so as to entrap the oil in the pores of the porous body forming an oil-infused BNC material.