Biomedical Applications of Nano-Chitosan

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Biology and Medicines".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2021) | Viewed by 6577

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INRS-Institut Armand Frappier, Laval, QC H7V 1B7, Canada
Interests: nanocomposite; food packaging; antimicrobial; cancer biology
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Dear Colleagues,

Chitosan-based nanomaterials have attracted significant attention in the biomedical field because of their unique biodegradable, biocompatible, non-toxic, and antimicrobial nature. It can be applied in many fields, especially in medicine. As a delivery carrier, it has great potential and cannot be compared with other polymers. Chitosan is extremely difficult to solubilize in water, but it can be solubilized in acidic solution. In therapeutics, chitosan and chitosan-based materials are used as antimicrobial, antitumor, antiulcer, antidiabetic, and cholesterol-lowering agents. The conformational flexibility of chitosan is attributed to the presence of the free primary amino groups, which makes chitosan an ideal candidate for biofabrication. Various methods, such as ionic gelation, desolvation, spray drying, and covalent cross-linking, have been employed for the functionalization of chitosan. Nanoparticles and their biofabrication impart desirable functional characteristics to chitosan. The molecular weight and the concentration of chitosan used, along with the amount of cross-linking, govern the physical properties of the chitosan nanoparticles formed. Chitosan nanocomposites have been shown to improve the dissolution rate of poorly soluble drugs, and are thus exploited for the enhancement of drug bioavailability and delivery. Various therapeutic agents, such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antithrombotic, steroid, protein, amino acid, antidiabetic, and diuretic compounds, have been incorporated in chitosan nanocomposites. The controlled release of therapeutic agents opens new windows in drug delivery and bio-imaging techniques using chitosan. Hence, chitosan and its nano-derivatives serve as one of the sustainable and ecofriendly alternatives to synthetic polymers in biomedical applications.

Dr. Shiv Shankar
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • chitosan
  • nanoparticle
  • nanocomposite
  • biomedical application
  • antimicrobial
  • anticancer

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 4938 KiB  
Article
Sulfur(VI) Fluoride Exchange (SuFEx)-Mediated Synthesis of the Chitosan-PEG Conjugate and Its Supramolecular Hydrogels for Protein Delivery
by Kyoung-Je Jang, Woong-Sup Lee, Sangbae Park, Jinsub Han, Jae Eun Kim, B. Moon Kim and Jong Hoon Chung
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(2), 318; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11020318 - 27 Jan 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3250
Abstract
Supramolecular hydrogels are considered promising drug carriers in the tissue engineering field due to their versatile nature. Chitosan hydrogels without chemical cross-linkers have low cytotoxicity and good delivery capacity; however, they have lower mechanical properties for injectable hydrogel usage. In this study, we [...] Read more.
Supramolecular hydrogels are considered promising drug carriers in the tissue engineering field due to their versatile nature. Chitosan hydrogels without chemical cross-linkers have low cytotoxicity and good delivery capacity; however, they have lower mechanical properties for injectable hydrogel usage. In this study, we developed novel chitosan derivatives via click chemistry for fabricating supramolecular hydrogels with higher mechanical strength under mild conditions. The chitosan derivative was successfully synthesized by a sulfur fluoride exchange reaction, and the synthesized chitosan-mPEG/Pluronic-F127 (CS-mPEG/F127) interacted with α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) to form a supramolecular hydrogel via a host-guest reaction. The gelation dynamics, hydrogel properties, and bovine serum albumin (BSA) release could be modulated by the concentration ratio of chitosan-mPEG and F127. This supramolecular hydrogel is a promising protein releasing carrier candidate for long term regeneration therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Applications of Nano-Chitosan)
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Review

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16 pages, 669 KiB  
Review
Chitosan-Based Nanomaterials as Valuable Sources of Anti-Leishmanial Agents: A Systematic Review
by Hamdan I. AlMohammed, Amal Khudair Khalaf, Aishah E. Albalawi, Abdullah D. Alanazi, Parastoo Baharvand, Ali Moghaddam and Hossein Mahmoudvand
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(3), 689; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11030689 - 10 Mar 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2844
Abstract
Background: The current chemotherapy agents against various forms of leishmaniasis have some problems and side effects, including high toxicity, high cost, and the emergence of resistant strains. Here, we aimed to review the preclinical studies (in vitro and in vivo) on the anti-leishmanial [...] Read more.
Background: The current chemotherapy agents against various forms of leishmaniasis have some problems and side effects, including high toxicity, high cost, and the emergence of resistant strains. Here, we aimed to review the preclinical studies (in vitro and in vivo) on the anti-leishmanial activity of chitosan and chitosan-based particles against Leishmania spp. Methods: This study was conducted based on the 06-PRISMA guidelines and registered in the CAMARADES-NC3Rs Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Facility (SyRF) database. Various English databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, EBSCO, ScienceDirect, and Scopus were used to find the publications related to the anti-leishmanial effects of chitosan and its derivatives and other pharmaceutical formulations, without a date limitation, to find all the published articles. The keywords included “chitosan”, “chitosan nanoparticles”, “anti-leishmanial”, “Leishmania”, “leishmaniasis”, “cutaneous leishmaniasis”, “visceral leishmaniasis”, “in vitro”, and “in vivo”. The language for data collection were limited to English. Results: Of 2669 papers, 25 papers, including 7 in vitro (28.0%), 7 in vivo (28.0%), and 11 in vitro/in vivo (44.0%) studies conducted up to 2020 met the inclusion criteria for discussion in this systematic review. The most common species of Leishmania used in these studies were L. major (12, 48.0%), L. donovani (7, 28.0%), and L. amazonensis (4, 16.80%). In vivo, the most used animals were BALB/c mice (11, 61.1%) followed by hamsters (6, 33.3%) and Wistar rats (1, 5.5%), respectively. In vitro, the most used Leishmania form was amastigote (8, 44.4%), followed by promastigote (4, 22.2%), and both forms promastigote/amastigote (6, 33.3%). Conclusion: According to the literature, different types of drugs based on chitosan and their derivatives demonstrated considerable in vitro and in vivo anti-leishmanial activity against various Leishmania spp. Based on the findings of this review study, chitosan and its derivatives could be considered as an alternative and complementary source of valuable components against leishmaniasis with a high safety index. Nevertheless, more investigations are required to elaborate on this result, mainly in clinical settings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Applications of Nano-Chitosan)
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