Title:Cellulosic Nanowhiskers: Preparation and Drug Delivery Application
Volume: 18
Issue: 10
Author(s): Harmeet Singh and Vineet Kumar*
Affiliation:
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Bioengineering and Biosciences, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab-144111,India
Keywords:
Cellulose, nanowhiskers, green nanomaterials, drug delivery, gene delivery, hydrogen bonding.
Abstract: Nanomaterials have applications in almost every field and among them, green nanomaterials
have various biological applications. Green nanomaterials are specifically useful for drug and
DNA delivery applications. Considering that cellulose is the most abundant and easily available
biomolecule, it has been used for preparing greener cellulose nanomaterials. Cellulosic nanowhiskers
are a cost-effective and green alternative to chemical non-viral gene delivery systems. Cellulose
nanowhiskers are commonly extracted from plant sources, and they are generally prepared by sulfuric
and hydrochloric acid hydrolysis of plant cellulose. In this review, the topic of cellulose
nanowhiskers as green biocompatible materials for gene and drug delivery is discussed with several
practical examples.
