Title:Application of Bacterial Nanocellulose in Cancer Drug Delivery: A Review
Volume: 27
Issue: 34
Author(s): Mina Shahriari-Khalaji, Maryam Zarkesh and Zahra Nozhat*
Affiliation:
- Cellular and Molecular Endocrine Research Center, Research Institute of Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,Iran
Keywords:
Bacterial nanocellulose, BNC, bacterial cellulose, cancer, drug delivery, cell cultivation, transdermal targeting.
Abstract: Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is one of the natural biopolymers with unique features, such as nontoxicity,
biocompatibility, high tensile profile, nanofiber structure, and purity. The current review aimed to summarize
the latest development in BNC-based biomaterials in cancer drug delivery. The original articles were
found by searching key databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Scientific and using key terms such
as “bacterial nanocellulose OR bacterial cellulose OR BNC” AND “cancer OR carcinoma OR tumor”. The obtained
data were in a wide timeframe and the English language. Totally, 350 articles were found from the three
main databases (i.e., 106, 251, and 173 articles from PubMed, Scopus, and the Web of Science, respectively).
In general, 32 articles met the inclusion criteria after duplicate removal and screening according to the aim of
the study. In this review study, different applications of the BNC were considered for cancer drug delivery in
addition to describing advanced methods that may be applied to improve therapeutic potency while reducing
the adverse effects of chemodrugs by decreasing their dosages. The high ratio of the surface area-to-volume
and easy modifications of their chemical components lead to BNC potential use as an appropriate matrix structure
for the binding and controlled release of various pharmaceutical agents, specifically for topical or transdermal
administrations. In addition, BNC-based products regulate the release of hydrophobic and hydrophilic compounds,
thus providing appropriate materials related to cancer drug delivery. However, undoubtedly, further developments
of BNC-based products as cancer drug delivery systems require more extensive investigations.
