Biomedical applications of chitosan: An overview

Abstract

Chitosan, a natural polymer obtained by alkaline deacetylation of chitin, is non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable and it has recently gained more interest due to its applications in food and pharmaceutics. Many researchers have focused on chitosan as a potential source of bioactive materials in the past few decades. The bioactivities summarized here may provide novel insights into the functions of chitosan and its derivatives. The great current interest in medical applications of chitosan and some of its derivatives is readily understood. Chitosan is used to prepare hydro gels, films, fibers or sponges, most of the materials are used in the biomedical domain, for which biocompatibility is essential. Chitosan has a variety of promising pharmaceutical uses and is presently considered as a novel carrier material in drug delivery systems, wound healing, antibacterial, fat binder, hemostatic agent, hypocholesterolemic effect as indicated by the large number of studies published over the last few years. The aim of the present review was to summarize the most important information on chitosan from its bioactivity point of view and to highlight various applications in biomedical field. © 2012 American Scientific Publishers. All rights reserved.