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2025 Vol.57, Issue 6 Preview Page

Review

Applications and Design Strategies of Cellulose-Based Drug Delivery Systems for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases

퇴행성뇌질환 치료를 위한 셀룰로오스 기반 약물전달시스템의 응용과 설계전략

Hanwoong Woo1
,
Jin Ho Seo2
,
Jieun Kim13†
우 한웅1
,
서 진호2
,
김 지은13†
1Multidimensional Genomics Research Center, Kangwon National University
2Department of Paper Material Science and Engineering, College of Forest & Environmental Sciences, Kangwon National University
Department of Bio-Health Technology, College of Biomedicine Science, Kangwon National University
1강원대학교 다차원유전체연구소, 박사후연구원
2강원대학교 산림환경과학대학 목재종이과학부 종이소재과학전공, 교수
강원대학교 의생명과학대학 생명건강공학과, 교수
†Corresponding Author: E-mail: jieunkim@kangwon.ac.kr (Address: Department of Bio-Health Technology, College of Biomedicine Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea)
‡Corresponding Author: E-mail: (동일하게 한번더)이메일주소 (Address: 주소)
30 December 2025. pp. 25-40
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Abstract

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are characterized by a progressive loss of neurons driven by protein aggregation, neuroinflammation, and oxidative stress. Additionally, the blood–brain barrier (BBB) severely restricts the delivery of most therapeutics to the brain. In this context, cellulose and nanocellulose have emerged as sustainable drug delivery systems (DDSs) owing to their renewable biomass-based origin, excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, high mechanical strength, and abundant surface hydroxyl groups that enable versatile chemical functionalization. This review summarizes the structural and physicochemical properties of bulk, nanocrystal, nanofibril, and bacterial celluloses that are crucial for designing DDSs that can target the brain. These include a high specific surface area, as well as tunable network formation, surface charge, and hydrophilicity. The review highlights representative preclinical applications in major neurodegenerative diseases, such as cellulose ether-based oral formulations that modulate amyloid-β pathology, mucoadhesive carboxymethyl cellulose nasal nanocrystals for nose-to-brain delivery of dopaminergic agents, trehalose–cellulose systems targeting mutant huntingtin aggregation, and chitosan–nanocellulose hydrogels that support neural tissue repair. Finally, it critically discusses the current relevance and limitations of cellulose-based DDSs compared with liposomal and polymeric nanoparticles and outlines future design strategies involving advanced surface functionalization, hybrid and multilayer architectures, integration with neural tissue engineering, and processes for regulatory standardization to enable clinical translation in neurodegenerative disease therapy.

Keywords
Cellulose, nanocellulose
drug delivery system
neurodegenerative disease
blood–brain barrier
nose-to-brain delivery
neural tissue engineering
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Information
  • Publisher :Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국펄프종이공학회
  • Journal Title :Journal of Korea TAPPI
  • Journal Title(Ko) :펄프종이기술
  • Volume : 57
  • No :6
  • Pages :25-40
  • Received Date : 2025-12-01
  • Revised Date : 2025-12-04
  • Accepted Date : 2025-12-05
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7584/JKTAPPI.2025.12.57.6.25
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