Table 1.

CNC-based cargo delivery: examples of recent cargos, carriers, applications, and loading and release mechanisms.

Cargo	Carrier	Potential application	Loading mechanism	Release mechanism	Year [Reference]
Rhodamine B isothiocyanate (RBITC), Fluorescein-5isothiocyanate (FITC)	Colloidal CNC	Bioimaging	Covalent conjugation	NA	2014 [80]
BSA-FITC	PLGA-doped PVA-CNC films	Biomacromolecule delivery to bone marrow	Physical entrapment	PLGA degradation	2014 [81]
MTX	Fe3O4 nanoparticles decorated with amino-functionalized CNC	Cancer therapy	Hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions	pH dependent (maximum release at pH ~ 5.4)	2016 [82]
5-FU	Xanthan gum-chitosan-CNC hydrogels	Cancer therapy	Equilibrium swelling	Non-Fickian diffusion	2017 [83]
Tetracycline hydrochloride (TH)	CNC-doped PLA/PEG nanofibers	Antibiotic	Hydrogen bonding and improved hydrophilicity	Composition regulated	2017 [84]
Curcumin (Cur)	CNC-collagen-gelatin microspheres/porous scaffolds	Wound healing	Physical trapping	Gradual dissolution	2017 [85]
Angiogenin (ANG) and Cur	PLGA/CNC/Cur/ pDNA-ANG composite nanofiber	Angiogenesis and infection prevention during wound healing	Electrostatic interactions	Expected to be pH dependent	2017 [86]
siRNA	Cationic BCNC, PEI-CNC hybrids	Gene therapy	Electrostatic interactions	pH dependent (maximum release at pH ~ 4.0)	2017 [87]
Bovine serum albumin (BSA), Human serum albumin (HSA)	CNC nanocomposites	Protein delivery for intracellular cholesterol efflux	Adsorption/chemical conjugation	pH dependent (maximum release at pH ~ 6.5–6.6)	2017 [88]
Repaglinide	Chitosan-CNC	Oral drug	Electrostatic	pH dependent	2018 [89]
(RPG)	polyelectrolyte macroion complexes (PMC)	delivery	interactions	(maximum release at acidic conditions)
Chlorotoxin	Colloidal CNC	Brain tumor therapy	Covalent conjugation	NA (internalization)	2018 [90]