Advanced Functional Materials Based on Nanocellulose for Pharmaceutical/Medical Applications

Abstract

Nanocelluloses (NCs), with their remarkable characteristics, have proven to be one of the most promising “green” materials of our times and have received special attention from researchers in nanomaterials. A diversity of new functional materials with a wide range of biomedical applications has been designed based on the most desirable properties of NCs, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, and their special physicochemical properties. In this context and under the pressure of rapid development of this field, it is imperative to synthesize the successes and the new requirements in a comprehensive review. The first part of this work provides a brief review of the characteristics of the NCs (cellulose nanocrystals—CNC, cellulose nanofibrils—CNF, and bacterial nanocellulose—BNC), as well as of the main functional materials based on NCs (hydrogels, nanogels, and nanocomposites). The second part presents an extensive review of research over the past five years on promising pharmaceutical and medical applications of nanocellulose-based materials, which have been discussed in three important areas: drug-delivery systems, materials for wound-healing applications, as well as tissue engineering. Finally, an in-depth assessment of the in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity of NCs-based materials, as well as the challenges related to their biodegradability, is performed.

Nanocellulose-Based Composite Materials Used in Drug Delivery Systems

“…Physical crosslinking methods typically include electrostatic/ionic interactions, hydrophobic interactions, and π-π stacking interactions [94]. Function groups such as hydroxyl groups and carboxyl groups play an important role in the physical crosslinking process [95]. Importantly, the physical crosslinking method can avoid the usage of lethal crosslinking agents which are required in chemical crosslinking methods.…”

“…Therefore, various meth-ods, such as pretreatment and surface modification, have been developed to overcome these limitations and improve specific properties [137]. Commonly, hydrophilic drugs loaded in the nanocellulose-based carriers via electrostatic attractions or covalent-binding reactions [95]. In addition, hydrophilic drugs usually have problems of low intracellular absorption, enzyme degradation, rapid clearance, poor distribution, drug resistance, poor pharmacokinetics, and low treatment index [138].…”

Natural Polysaccharide-Based Nanodrug Delivery Systems for Treatment of Diabetes

“…Nanocellulose is one of the most promising green materials to be derived from abundant and inexhaustible cellulose [ 65 , 66 ]. In recent years, nanocellulose has been designed into multi-dimensional structures, including one-dimensional (nanofibers, microparticles), two-dimensional (films), and three-dimensional (hydrogels, aerogels) materials for drug delivery, wound healing, and tissue engineering [ 67 ].…”

Research and Technology in Graphic Engineering and Design at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

“…La CNC sola o combinada con otros polímeros, muestra una amplia gama de aplicaciones. Algunas de ellas podrían ser la producción de materiales médicos y antimicrobianos, o la síntesis de materiales portadores de fármacos en medicina terapéutica y de diagnóstico (Nicu et al, 2021). La aplicación más ventajosa de la CNC es que se puede utilizar como relleno o de refuerzo para la preparación de bionanocomposites (Posada & Montes-Florez, 2021), para mejorar las propiedades barreras de, por ejemplo, de productos para envases de alimentos, de productos cosméticos y farmacéuticos (Liu & Kong, 2021).…”