Cellulose Nanocrystal Membranes as Excipients for Drug Delivery Systems

Abstract

In this work, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were obtained from flax fibers by an acid hydrolysis assisted by sonochemistry in order to reduce reaction times. The cavitation inducted during hydrolysis resulted in CNC with uniform shapes, and thus further pretreatments into the cellulose are not required. The obtained CNC exhibited a homogeneous morphology and high crystallinity, as well as typical values for surface charge. Additionally, CNC membranes were developed from CNC solution to evaluation as a drug delivery system by the incorporation of a model drug. The drug delivery studies were carried out using chlorhexidine (CHX) as a drug and the antimicrobial efficiency of the CNC membrane loaded with CHX was examined against Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. Aureus). The release of CHX from the CNC membranes is determined by UV-Vis. The obtaining methodology of the membranes proved to be simple, and these early studies showed a potential use in antibiotic drug delivery systems due to the release kinetics and the satisfactory antimicrobial activity.

Internalization of (bis)phosphonate-modified cellulose nanocrystals by human osteoblast cells

“…Nanocellulose (NC) has also gained significant attention in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications recently, above all in wound healing (Napavichayanun et al 2016), tissue engineering (Gorgieva et al 2017;Markstedt et al 2015;Brown et al 2013), cell therapy (Lou et al 2014), gene (Ndong Ntoutoume et al 2017), drug delivery (Barbosa et al 2016;Dong et al 2014;Villanova et al 2011;Lin et al 2016), and diagnostics (Edwards et al 2016). Such a wide application spectrum is related mainly to their nanometer-sized features, large surface area, specific biomechanical characteristics, surface chemistry, ease of conjugation, high biocompatibility, and low (if any) cytotoxicity (Alexandrescu et al 2013) with tolerogenic potential to the immune system (Tomić et al 2016).…”

Characterization and Evaluation of Controlled Antimicrobial Release from Petrochemical (PU) and Biodegradable (PHB) Packaging

“…Despite the fact that the antiseptic given has been widely used in medicine as a loading chemical in surgical catheters, short-term implants, in dentistry and for oral mucosal delivery [38], its application in the packaging is still fairly limited. Nowadays, for the innovative design of active barrier materials where CHD provides the antibacterial property and simultaneously could progressively migrate into mimic or real foodsas the controlled-delivery agent, there are several polymer systems, namely the porous hybrids of silica [39], paperboard packaging modified by microfibrillar cellulose [40], β-dextrin-cellulose barrier complexes [41], and nano-structured fibrillar cellulose as a coating [42,43], or as nanocrystalline matrices [44].…”

Cellulose Nanocrystals as a Sustainable Raw Material: Cytotoxicity and Applications on Healthcare Technology

“…Barbosa et al reinforced the idea of using cellulose crystals as a pharmaceutical excipient for the modified release of drugs . CNCs (obtained from flax by high frequency cavitation‐induced acid hydrolysis) were applied in solution as an excipient to obtain a chlorhexidine‐laden membrane (CHX), a positively charged broadspectrum antimicrobial agent.…”