Production of Nanocellulose and Its Applications in Drug Delivery: A Critical Review

Nanocellulose, as a promising natural material, has recently received much attention because of its remarkable features including recyclability, biocompatibility, low risk of toxicity, and tunable surface properties. This review article first introduces three types of nanocellulose (nanocrystalline, nanofibrillar, and bacterial) and evaluates their production processes. In addition, contemporary research is discussed in the formulations of nanoparticles, tablets, hydrogels, and aerogels. As reported in the literature, the release time of nanocellulose-based systems varies from a few minutes to several days as they provide a controlled and sustained release. Thus, such systems have shown considerable potential for developing a novel generation of controlled drug delivery for different routes of administration (oral, transdermal, etc.). This review facilitates the selection of proper source and processing techniques for nanocellulose production while addressing opportunities and challenges ahead ending up with identifying sustainable ongoing research directions into its applications in drug delivery.