Nanocellulose-based hydrogels as versatile drug delivery vehicles: A review

Hydrogels designed with nanocellulose (i.e. cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), and bac-terial cellulose (BC)) have significant advantages as drug carriers due to their environmentally-benign features and excellent properties. Nanocellulose hydrogels have been demonstrated to sustainably deliver various kinds of drugs via different routes of administration, in which nanocellulose significantly improves the hydrogel prop-erties and tunes the drug releasing profile. This article comprehensively summarizes the recent research progress on nanocellulose hydrogels in drug delivery. We carefully assessed the gelation methods for nanocellulose hydrogel design and highlighted the influence of nanocellulose on hydrogel properties and drug release be-haviors. In particular, it is the first time to summarize the research on nanocellulose hydrogel-based drug carriers regarding specific routes of administration. This work provides a critical review of nanocellulose-based hydrogels as drug delivery vehicles, and also underlines the outlook in this field, with the objective to inspire/prompt future work, especially the practical applications of nanocellulose hydrogels in designing controlled drug de-livery systems.

Automated summary

This article comprehensively summarizes the recent research progress on nanocellulose hydrogels as drug carriers. The study evaluates the influence of nanocellulose on hydrogel properties and drug release behaviors, and highlights the application of nanocellulose hydrogel-based drug carriers in specific routes of administration. It provides a critical review and outlook in the field, aiming to inspire future work on the practical applications of nanocellulose hydrogels in designing controlled drug delivery systems.