ABSTRACT
A medicine is composed of two parts, the active pharmaceutical ingredient and the excipients that complete the total volume/mass of a formulation. The search for new drugs and more efficient excipients in the human organism isnecessary for better efficacy of medicines. In addition, controlled drug release studies are needed to improve the desired therapeutic effects. Nanocellulose is a biomaterial that has been showing great application potential as an excipient in encapsulation and controlled drug release systems. This chapter discusses the main aspects of this biomaterial (nanocellulose), viz., its production methods and characteristics in general and its application in the pharmaceutical field in particular. Accordingly, the application of nanocellulose by the main method of solid dispersions and encapsulation, the releasing of drugs and the tests necessary to evaluate its use in human health, are presented.
