Oxidized cellulose nanofibrils for anticancer drug delivery applications

Abstract

The development of new drug delivery systems in antitumor field is critical because the efficacy of the treatment and peripheral toxicity, that can be decisive in the treatment choice. Among several natural polymers, cellulose deserves special attention because its remarkable properties for use in the biomedical field, such as biocompatibility, mechanical properties, water absorption, etc., however, it is not biodegradable and poor water soluble. Oxidized celluloses with carboxylic groups at their surface show special features such as high water solubility and biodegradability inside human body, overcoming the problems of unmodified celluloses. The main objective of our research project is to study the oxidized cellulose nanofibers (ToNFC) colloidal suspension for the development of new materials for application in antitumor drug delivery systems. ToNFC has special features with potential application in biomedical field, for internal use (human and animals), which were not studied yet, encouraging the development of this project. (AU)