Use of Nanocellulose as Drug Carriers for Drug Delivery Applications

Cellulose is a natural biopolymer that forms a source of sustainable and renewable raw materials for industrial usage. In recent times, cellulose at the nanoscale has revolutionized various industrial sectors, including the food sector, the technical sector, and, most importantly, the biomedical sector and pharmaceutical industry. Nanocellulose is broadly categorized into three types: bacterial nanocellulose, cellular nanofibrils, and cellulose nanocrystals. These nanocelluloses have unique characteristics that are diverse from traditional plant-based cellulosic materials, which include distinct morphology and geometric dimension, high surface area, alignment and orientation, crystallinity, rheological properties, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and biocompatibility. Various biomedical applications of nanocellulose, such as wound healing, skin and bone tissue repair, soft tissue replacement, blood vessel replacement, tissue scaffolds for cell culture, and antimicrobial biomaterials, show that nanocellulose has achieved advancement in the application of drug delivery. This includes the modification and functionalization of nanocellulose for increasing drug adsorption using physical treatment, chemical treatment, and post-chemical modification. Whereas post-chemical modification includes sulfonation and Fischer esterification among the common approaches, there are many additional techniques that help to improve the drug delivery application of nanocellulose as a carrier. Various methods (1D, 2D, and 3D formulations) for drug loading or encapsulation in nanocellulose are also demonstrated in this chapter. The drugs utilized for delivery using nanocellulose include a broad class, including vitamins, cardiovascular drugs, anticancer drugs, antifungal drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, and many more. In addition, this study describes the most recent clinical applications of nanocellulose in the biological sector. In order to demonstrate the potential of nanosized cellulose in biomedical applications, examples of recent clinical studies are provided. Thus, it is evident that nanocellulose has gained a significant status in the field of drug delivery. This chapter emphasizes on discussing the state of the art of nanocellulose for drug delivery applications.