Chitosan and its derivatives for tissue engineering applications

Biotechnol Adv. 2008 Jan-Feb;26(1):1-21. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2007.07.009. Epub 2007 Aug 3.

Abstract

Tissue engineering is an important therapeutic strategy for present and future medicine. Recently, functional biomaterial researches have been directed towards the development of improved scaffolds for regenerative medicine. Chitosan is a natural polymer from renewable resources, obtained from shell of shellfish, and the wastes of the seafood industry. It has novel properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, antibacterial, and wound-healing activity. Furthermore, recent studies suggested that chitosan and its derivatives are promising candidates as a supporting material for tissue engineering applications owing to their porous structure, gel forming properties, ease of chemical modification, high affinity to in vivo macromolecules, and so on. In this review, we focus on the various types of chitosan derivatives and their use in various tissue engineering applications namely, skin, bone, cartilage, liver, nerve and blood vessel.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Artificial Organs
  • Chitosan / analogs & derivatives*
  • Chitosan / chemistry
  • Chitosan / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Tissue Engineering / methods*
  • Tissue Scaffolds

Substances

  • Chitosan