Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2010, 11(12), 5152-5164; doi:10.3390/ijms11125152
Review

Applications of Chitin and Its Derivatives in Biological Medicine

Bae Keun Park 1 email and Moon-Moo Kim 2,* email
1 Institute of Basic Medical Science, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju 220-701, Korea 2 Department of Chemistry, Dong-Eui University, Busan 614-714, Korea
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 1 November 2010; in revised form: 2 December 2010 / Accepted: 6 December 2010 / Published: 15 December 2010
(This article belongs to the Section Material Sciences and Nanotechnology)
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Abstract: Chitin and its derivatives—as a potential resource as well as multiple functional substrates—have generated attractive interest in various fields such as biomedical, pharmaceutical, food and environmental industries, since the first isolation of chitin in 1811. Moreover, chitosan and its chitooligosaccharides (COS) are degraded products of chitin through enzymatic and acidic hydrolysis processes; and COS, in particular, is well suited for potential biological application, due to the biocompatibility and nontoxic nature of chitosan. In this review, we investigate the current bioactivities of chitin derivatives, which are all correlated with their biomedical properties. Several new and cutting edge insights here may provide a molecular basis for the mechanism of chitin, and hence may aid its use for medical and pharmaceutical applications.
Keywords: chitin; chitosan; antioxidant; anticancer; anti-inflammatory; drug delivery

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MDPI and ACS Style

Park, B.K.; Kim, M.-M. Applications of Chitin and Its Derivatives in Biological Medicine. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2010, 11, 5152-5164.

AMA Style

Park BK, Kim M-M. Applications of Chitin and Its Derivatives in Biological Medicine. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2010; 11(12):5152-5164.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Park, Bae Keun; Kim, Moon-Moo. 2010. "Applications of Chitin and Its Derivatives in Biological Medicine." Int. J. Mol. Sci. 11, no. 12: 5152-5164.

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