Abstract

Chitosan is a cationic polysaccharide derived from Chitin, a renewable natural polymer second in abundance to cellulose. Chitosan is one of the most preferred biomaterials for developing wound dressings, tissue engineering scaffolds and drug delivery vehicles due to its mucoadhesivity, hemostatic and wound healing properties. The versatility of chitosan lies in its chemical reactivity, which allows the development of wide range of chitosan derivatives with varied physical, chemical and biological properties. In short, chitosan is currently being considered for a variety of biomedical applications due to its excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability and bioactivities. This review covers the recent findings and patents on the biomedical applications of chitosan and chitosan derivatives.

Keywords: Chitosan, wound healing, tissue engineering, drug delivery, gene delivery, biomaterial, cationic polysaccharide, biocompatibility, biodegradability, bioactivities, stearoyl group, low-immunogenicity, haemostatic properties, angiogenesis, fibroplasia, epithelization, immunomodulatory, dodecyaldehyde, glycosaminoglycans, proteoglycans, collagen, lyophilization, bovine serum albumin, chitosan-hyaluronic acid, alginate-chitosan, heparin-chitosan, micromachined wafer technology, hydroxyapatite, polygalacturonic acid, intestinal epithelia, drug ketotifen, trimethyl chitosan, methylpyrrolidinone chitosan, cholesterol succinyl chitosan, glycero-phosphate, hydrogel, liposomes, Paclitaxel, lysozyme, trans epithelial electrical resistance, hydrogels