Anti-cancer effects of Chitin and Chitosan derivatives

Abstract

Despite considerable progress in medical research, cancer is still one of the high-ranking causes of death in the world. It is the second most common cause of death due to disease after heart disease and according to World Health Organization it will be cause of death more than 10 million people in 2020. Therefore one of the main research goal for researchers investigating new anticancer agents. But the major complication for the cancer cure without surgeries is side effects. Especially, cytotoxic anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents generally produce severe side effects, while reducing host resistance to cancer and infections. Therefore, it is important to find new, powerful anti-cancer agents that are highly effective, biodegradable and biocompatible. Chitin and chitosan are biopolymers which have unique structural possibilities for chemical and mechanical modifications to generate novel properties, functions. These biopolymers are biocompatible, biodegradable and non-toxic and their chemical properties allow them easily processed into gels, sponges, membranes, beads and scaffolds forms also. Due to their unique properties, they are excellent candidate for cancer cure or cancer diagnosis.