Luminescent marking of the cellulose-based materials

Luminescent markers have been widely used in medicine, biology, agrotechnology, and for marking nuclear wastes and consumer goods. The high sensitivity and selectivity of the markers/labels allow the detection of various substances and the obtaining of valuable information about the distribution of constituents in specific media. This review describes the state of the art in luminescent marking/labeling of various cellulose forms, including nanosized ones, cellulose derivatives, and cellulose-containing materials. The importance of this consideration is explained by the role of cellulose and its derivatives in human life and their overall impact on mankind’s development. The structure and luminescence properties of cellulose and other related materials and cellulose derivatives are discussed from the viewpoint of cellulose luminescent “self-labeling”. It is shown that dyes, organic molecules, and organic-inorganic complexes, as well as inorganic dielectric and semiconductor micro/nanoparticles, can be effectively applied for the purposes of cellulose luminescent marking/labeling. This review discusses various application examples and explains the performance and mechanisms of various systems labeling (e.g., dye-cellulose, quantum dot-cellulose complex) in these applications. The review not only comprehensively summarizes existing approaches to luminescent labeling of cellulose-containing materials. It also highlights problematic issues that arise for developers of new luminescent markers (quenching of luminescence in an aqueous environment, the need to functionalize the luminescent marker material, etc.). At the same time, this work demonstrates the prospects for luminescent labeling data in modern digital technologies, particularly in the Internet of Things (IoT).