Anticancer, antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal applications of cellulose and its derivatives: Novel formulations

Cellulose as the most abundant biopolymer has shown a variety of pharmaceutical and nutritional applications. Modification and functionalization of this herbal and bacterial biopolymer are employed to increase its bioavailability and biodegradability features. This polymer has desirable biocompatibility in physiological conditions, which has led to its application in food packaging and biomedical formulation. Various antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anticancer effects have been reported for micro or nanoformulations of functionalized celluloses or cellulose derivatives with therapeutic agents. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), and bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) can be employed as micro and nanoforms of cellulose in biomedical fields. In this mini-review, novel formulations of these micro and nanomaterials of cellulose and its derivatives have been evaluated according to recent advances.