Emerging Biomedical Applications of Nano-Chitins and Nano-Chitosans Obtained via Advanced Eco-Friendly Technologies from Marine Resources
1
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical & Molecular Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, IT-60100 Ancona, Italy
2
Faculty of Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering & Mathematical Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, IT-60100 Ancona, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Mar. Drugs 2014, 12(11), 5468-5502; https://doi.org/10.3390/md12115468
Received: 10 October 2014 / Revised: 2 November 2014 / Accepted: 3 November 2014 / Published: 19 November 2014
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Marine Chitin and Chitosan)
The present review article is intended to direct attention to the technological advances made in the 2010–2014 quinquennium for the isolation and manufacture of nanofibrillar chitin and chitosan. Otherwise called nanocrystals or whiskers, n-chitin and n-chitosan are obtained either by mechanical chitin disassembly and fibrillation optionally assisted by sonication, or by e-spinning of solutions of polysaccharides often accompanied by poly(ethylene oxide) or poly(caprolactone). The biomedical areas where n-chitin may find applications include hemostasis and wound healing, regeneration of tissues such as joints and bones, cell culture, antimicrobial agents, and dermal protection. The biomedical applications of n-chitosan include epithelial tissue regeneration, bone and dental tissue regeneration, as well as protection against bacteria, fungi and viruses. It has been found that the nano size enhances the performances of chitins and chitosans in all cases considered, with no exceptions. Biotechnological approaches will boost the applications of the said safe, eco-friendly and benign nanomaterials not only in these fields, but also for biosensors and in targeted drug delivery areas.
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Keywords:
chitin; chitosan; electrospinning; nanofibrils; biomedical uses
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Muzzarelli, R.A.A.; Mehtedi, M.E.; Mattioli-Belmonte, M. Emerging Biomedical Applications of Nano-Chitins and Nano-Chitosans Obtained via Advanced Eco-Friendly Technologies from Marine Resources. Mar. Drugs 2014, 12, 5468-5502.
AMA Style
Muzzarelli RAA, Mehtedi ME, Mattioli-Belmonte M. Emerging Biomedical Applications of Nano-Chitins and Nano-Chitosans Obtained via Advanced Eco-Friendly Technologies from Marine Resources. Marine Drugs. 2014; 12(11):5468-5502.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuzzarelli, Riccardo A.A.; Mehtedi, Mohamad E.; Mattioli-Belmonte, Monica. 2014. "Emerging Biomedical Applications of Nano-Chitins and Nano-Chitosans Obtained via Advanced Eco-Friendly Technologies from Marine Resources" Mar. Drugs 12, no. 11: 5468-5502.
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