Cellulose-based Nanocarriers as Platforms for Cancer Therapy

Cellulose is an important environmentally-friendly renewable polymer on the earth. Cellulose has been widely used as feedstocks for the synthesis of biomaterials, biofuels and biochemicals. Recently, cellulose and cellulose derivatives have received intense attention in biomedical applications, such as tissue engineering, scaffold, artificial blood vessel, skin grafts, artificial skin, drug carrier, and chronic skin diseases, many of which are somehow related to cancer therapy. In this mini-review, we focus on the up-to-date development of cellulose-based nanocarriers used for cancer therapy. Various cellulose-based nanocarriers such as bacterial cellulose (BC), cellulose acetate, microcrystalline cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, cellulose nanocrystals, cellulose nanofibrills, etc, are reviewed in terms of being used in drug delivery systems for cancer treatment. Different strategies for the synthesis of cellulose-based nanocarriers are summarized. Special attention is paid on the structure and properties of cellulose-based drug carriers for cancer therapy via some representative examples. Finally, the problems and future developments of these promising polymeric nanocarriers are raised and proposed.