AN OVERVIEW OF NANO-CRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE NANOFIBERS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN DRUG DELIVERY

Made from a variety of natural sources, Nano Crystalline Cellulose (NCC) is a unique renewable nanomaterial with a wide range of applications due to its high stiffness and strength, low weight, biodegradability, and environmental benefits. Because of its special inherent qualities, NCC is one of the most renewable materials to be addressed by nanomaterials. The origins, manufacture, characteristics, and applications of nanomaterials, including NCC and nanofibers, have been extensively studied by a large number of researchers throughout the years. Strong chemical reactivity, crystallinity, strength and stiffness, biocompatibility, biodegradability, shape, and nanoscale dimensions are just a few of the remarkable properties that these nanomaterials have been shown to possess in countless investigations. These characteristics enable the application of these nanoparticles in a number of fields, including medicine. Among the most traditional and popular techniques. Electrospinning is one of the earliest and most popular techniques for producing nanofibers. This method works well and can be modified to produce continuous nanofibers. NCC-based nanofibers are novel materials in the biomaterials industry. Recent studies demonstrated that electrospun nanofibers could be efficiently loaded with a wide range of drugs, such as proteins, chemotherapeutic agents, antibiotics, and analgesics with anti-inflammatory qualities. One application of NCC and nanofibers in the medical field is drug delivery. This review highlights a number of issues related to NCC nanofibers and their use in drug delivery applications, beginning with discussing the various natural polymer types used in drug delivery applications, the physicochemical and biological properties of NCC, its various applications, its significance, and its preparation techniques.