Preparation and Characterization of Microcrystalline Cellulose for Pharmaceutical Excipient: A Review

Abstract

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is widely used as an additive excipient in the pharmaceutical,
cosmetic, and food industries. Previous studies have been conducted on the extraction of natural
MCC from plant fibers, stem powder, seeds, husks, and organic waste. This review was aimed at
discussing the preparation and characterization of MCC for pharmaceutical excipients. Google,
Science Direct, PubMed, and Scopus search were conducted using specific keywords to find
recent information published between 2010 and 2022. MCC is produced in four stages:
delignification, bleaching, cellulose hydrolysis using a dilute acid solution while keeping
reaction conditions in mind, and drying. Several analytical techniques have been developed to
characterize MCC, including Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, energydispersive
X-ray
spectrophotometry,
and
X-ray
diffractometer
to
calculate
the
crystallinity
index

and

predict the type of cellulose produced. The MCC from natural components yield of 33.0 -
91.71% and crystallinity index was between 50 - 82.4%.The properties such as true, bulk, and
tapped densities, as well as flow properties (Carr's index, angle of repose, Hausner index, and
compressibility index) indicate that MCC from natural materials such as grounut husk, corn
stalks, ensete glaucum, wheat straw, water hyacinth, and sugarcane bagasse has the potential as
tablet excipients when compared to the characteristics of commercial MCC. Therefore, they can
be used as a reference for direct compression.

Keywords: Characterization, Delignification, Hydrolysis, Microcrystalline cellulose, Pharmaceutical
excipient.