THE STATE OF MAINE IS BLESSED WITH FOREST RESOURCES. HOWEVER, RECENT STRUGGLES IN THE PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY UNDERSCORE THE IMPORTANCE OF IDENTIFYING AND CREATING THE VALUE-ADDITION OF FOREST BIOPRODUCTS FOR IMPROVING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE INDUSTRY AND THE OVERALL ECONOMY OF THE STATE. AS ONE OF THE FOREST BIO-PRODUCTS, CELLULOSE MICRO/NANOCOMPOSITES SUCH AS CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS ARE COMMERCIAL POLYSACCHARIDE BIOPOLYMERS, EASILY AVAILABLE, LOW COST, BIOCOMPATIBLE, HIGHLY POROUS, BIODEGRADABLE AND HAVE LOW/NO ECOLOGICAL TOXICITY THAT CAN BE USED IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH AIMS TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE COATING MATERIALS FROM THE CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS FOR THE DESIGN OF OIL AND PHOSPHOLIPID-BASED ENCAPSULATION SYSTEMS. THIS PROJECT WILL USE A CHEMICAL SURFACE MODIFICATION OF CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS. CHEMICAL MODIFICATION OF CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS WILL STABILIZE THE DEVELOPED COATING MATERIALS TO VARIOUS PH AND IONIC CONDITIONS. THE INVESTIGATION WILL USE A MODEL HYDROPHILIC BIOACTIVE COMPOUND KNOWN AS PHYCOBILIPROTEIN, A PHOTO-PROTEIN IN RED SEAWEED, DULSE, COATED WITH CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS TO DELIVER INTO THE INTESTINE WITH A TARGET OF NO SIGNIFICANT LOSS DURING THE GASTRIC PHASE.THE INVESTIGATION WILL HELP TO UNDERSTAND THE SYNERGY OF CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS WITH THE PHYCOBILIPROTEIN BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN THE HUMAN GUT HEALTH AND DIGESTIVE SYSTEMS FOR BETTER ABSORPTION OF COMPOUNDS.THE PROPOSED SURFACE-MODIFIED CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS ARE EXPECTED TO ENHANCE THE STABILITY OF ENCAPSULATED BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS AT DIFFERENT PH, TEMPERATURE, LIGHT AND IONIC CONDITIONS DURING STORAGE/FOOD PROCESSING; ITS EFFECTIVE DISTRIBUTION INTO DIFFERENT FOOD MATRICES; AND SAFE AND ENHANCED DELIVERY INTO THE SMALL INTESTINE. THE SUCCESS OF DEVELOPING COATING MATERIALS FROM THE NANOCRYSTALS WILL HELP TO PRODUCE MORE FOREST BIO-PRODUCTS AND IT'S VALUE-ADDITION TO THE PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY.