@article{10.37349/eds.2024.1008174,
abstract = {Background: Acid-hydrolyzed nanocrystalline starch has attracted interest as a sustainable pharmaceutical excipient because of its crystallinity, compactibility, and potential suitability for direct compression tableting. However, the available evidence on its fabrication methods, material attributes, and performance as a direct compression tablet excipient remains scattered. Methods: A systematic review was conducted using MEDLINE, Scopus, PubMed, Embase®, and Google Scholar to identify studies published from 2000 to 2025. Search terms included starch nanocrystals, acid-modified starch, hydrolyzed starch, acid-hydrolyzed starch, nanostarch, and direct compression fillers. Forward and backward snowballing were also performed. Studies were screened using predefined eligibility criteria, excluding reviews, conference abstracts, non-pharmaceutical applications, low crystallinity products, and studies lacking adequate characterization, particularly X-ray diffraction. Results: The search identified 651 records; after removal of 3 duplicate records, 648 records were screened, 51 underwent full text assessment, and 34 were included in the review. Acid hydrolysis was the most widely reported method for preparing nanocrystalline starch, while pretreatment strategies such as enzymatic treatment, ultrasonication, ball milling, heat moisture treatment, organic acid treatment, and mixed acid hydrolysis were reported to reduce preparation time or improve yield and crystallinity. Across tablet related studies, acid modified nanocrystalline starch generally showed improved crystallinity, compactibility, and tablet hardness compared with native starch. Spray drying and agglomeration further improved flow and direct compression performance in several studies. Discussion: Acid modified nanocrystalline starch shows promise as a sustainable direct compression tablet excipient. However, broader pharmaceutical adoption remains limited by low or variable yield, long processing time, botanical source variability, inconsistent powder flow, limited standardization, and unclear scale up pathways. Future studies should connect preparation methods, material characterization, powder flow engineering, and tablet performance testing to support industrial development.},
author = {Farooq, Mudassir and Sheikh, Saleh},
doi = {10.37349/eds.2024.1008174},
journal = {Exploration of Drug Science},
elocation-id = {1008174},
title = {Acid-hydrolyzed nanocrystalline starch excipients for direct-compression tableting: a systematic review},
url = {https://www.explorationpub.com/Journals/eds/Article/1008174},
volume = {4},
year = {2026}
}