Naturally derived nano- and micro-drug delivery vehicles: halloysite, vaterite and nanocellulose

Abstract

Recent advances in drug delivery and controlled release had a great impact on bioscience, medicine and tissue engineering. Consequently, a variety of advanced drug delivery vehicles either have already reached the market or are approaching the phase of commercial production. Progressive growth of the drug delivery market has led to the necessity to earnestly concern about economically viable, up-scalable and sustainable technologies for a large-scale production of drug delivery carriers. We have identified three attractive natural sources of drug carriers: aluminosilicate clays, minerals of calcium carbonate, and cellulose. Three classes of drug delivery carriers derived from these natural materials are halloysite nanotubes, vaterite crystals and nanocellulose. These carriers can be produced using “green” technologies from some of the most abundant sources on the Earth and have extremely high potential to meet all criteria applied for the manufacture of modern delivery carriers. We provide an up-to-date snapshot of these drug delivery vehicles towards their use for bioapplications, in particular for drug delivery and tissue engineering. The following research topics are addressed: (i) the availability, sources and methodologies used for production of these drug delivery vehicles, (ii) the drug loading and release mechanisms of these delivery vehicles, (iii) in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies on these vehicles, and (iv) employment of these vehicles for tissue engineering. Finally, the prospects for vehicles’ further development and industrialisation are critically assessed, highlighting most attractive future research directions such as the design of third generation active biomaterials.