Gum arabic-based nanomaterials in drug delivery and biomedical applications

Gum arabic is a natural polysaccharidic gum, which is extracted from Acacia nilotica, belonging to the family, Leguminosae. Its molecular structure is very complex. It contains 39%–42% galactose, 15%–16% glucuronic acid, 24%–27% arabinose, 12%–16% rhamnose, 12.5%–16% moisture, 1.5%–2.6% protein, and 0.22%–0.39% nitrogen. It has been widely used in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. During the past few years, gum arabic has been widely exploited as a useful and effective excipient in accomplishing various nanoscaffolds for drug delivery and biomedical applications. This chapter reviews the recently developed gum arabic-based nanomaterials for drug delivery and biomedical applications.