Scientific advances and pharmacological applications of marine derived-collagen and chitosan

Abstract

Collagen and chitosan and their combination are the most trending biomaterials at present due to their excellent bioavailability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, nontoxicity, and potent wound healing activity. Chitosan is obtained from chitin, a second-most freely accessible characteristic biomaterial after cellulose. Chitin is not soluble in weak acids, while chitosan dissolves in an acidic environment. Due to the dominance of primary amines (-NH2) in the structure of chitosan, a net positive charge is gained by the molecule, which is significant for its pharmacological activity. Marine collagen is obtained from numerous marine sources like marine fishes, sponge, and mollusks. It plays a key job in tissue repair mechanism through its chemotactic properties, which attracts cells like fibroblasts and keratinocytes to the injury and gives the wound an alternative collagen source that is debased by elastase and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) as a conciliatory substrate. Many different types of chitosan and collagen have been pre-owned to an assortment of wound preparations, acting as a characteristic scaffold or substrate for new tissue development and making them the most favored biomaterial among wound experts. This review focuses on the key highlights of marine collagen and chitosan, their mechanism of action, pharmacological applications, and their use in biomedical engineering, particularly wound healing.