## 4 Conclusions  
The results of the present work highlight the positive contribution of both CNC and CD to the improvement of the properties of CH films (both in the primary solutions and in the final formed edible films). They both led to enhanced coating characteristics by decreasing the viscosity by more than 50%. They also improved the barrier properties of the occurring films. Specifically, CD decreased the oxygen permeability by more than 50%, as well as the color of the final formed edible films at a significant level, thus improving their optical properties. The films that contained CNC had higher mechanical strength as nanocrystals create more efficient load transfer. In general, the addition of CNC to the CH samples increased the stability of the final formed edible films. For both materials, the 50/50 ratio with CH gave the best overall results.  
In the case of the CH-CNC-CD mixture, no proportion appeared to clearly provide the optimal properties, compared to the other proportions. However, the addition of both CNC and CD to the basic material CH, in all proportions, improved most of the properties which were examined. Increasing the CD content led to better optical properties (lighter color and increased transparency), while increasing the CNC content led to better coating characteristics (increase of surface tension and decrease of viscosity) and superior mechanical properties (elastic modulus and breaking stress).  
According to the results analyzed above, the application of the triple combination of CH-CNC-CD for the formation of edible films and coatings leads to improved film properties and therefore can be generally recommended.  
The results of the present study were a trigger for further investigation, especially as far as the combination of CH-CNC-CD is concerned. In this context, further specialized study of the CH-CNC-CD mixture is underway, including comparison with the triple mixture of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), CNC and CD (HPMC-CNC-CD).  
The following supporting information can be downloaded at: [[https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app12178729/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app12178729/s1)]([https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app12178729/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app12178729/s1)), Table S1: The specifications of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) used in the current study; Table S2: The specifications of beta-cyclodextrintrin (CD) used in the current study; Figure S1: A typical rheological curve obtained from a rotational rheometer.  
A.-[PERSON] was responsible for conducting the experiments in the context of his doctoral dissertation and for writing the manuscript. [PERSON] was responsible for the design of the experiments and editing of the manuscript and [PERSON] contributed to reviewing the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research work was supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) under the HFRI PhD Fellowship grant (Fellowship Number: 1383).  
Not applicable.  
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.  
The authors declare no conflict of interest.