Recently, the modification of the initial structure of biopolymers, mainly chitosan, has been gaining importance with a view to obtain functional forms with increased practicality and specific properties enabling their use in tissue engineering. Therefore, in this article, the properties (structural and biological) of thermosensitive hydrogels obtained from chitosan lactate/chloride and two types of crosslinking agents (β-glycerol phosphate disodium salt pentahydrate and uridine 5′-monophosphate disodium salt) are discussed. The aim of the research is to identify changes in the structure of the biomaterials during conditioning in water. Structural investigations were carried out by FTIR spectroscopy. The crystallinity of gels was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The biocompatibility (evaluation of cytotoxicity and genotoxicity) of chitosan hydrogels was investigated by contact with human colon adenocarcinoma cell line for 48 h. The cytotoxicity was verified based on the colorimetric resazurin assay, and the genotoxicity was checked by the comet assay (percentage of DNA in the comet tail). The conducted research showed that the analyzed types of chitosan hydrogels are non-cytotoxic and non-genotoxic materials. The good biocompatibility of chitosan hydrogels surfaces makes them interesting scaffolds with clinical potential in tissue regeneration engineering.

: The currently observed development of medical science results from the constant search for innovative solutions to improve the health and quality of life of patients. Particular attention is focused on the design of a new generation of materials with a high degree of biocompatibility and tolerance towards the immune system. In addition, apart from biotolerance, it is important to ensure appropriate mechanical and technological properties of materials intended for intrabody application. Knowledge of the above parameters becomes the basis for considerations related to the possibilities of choosing the appropriate polymer materials. The researchers' interest, as evidenced by the number of available publications, is attracted by nanobiocomposites based on chitosan and carbon nanotubes, which, due to their properties, enable integration with the tissues of the human body. Nanosystems can be used in many areas of medicine. They constitute an excellent base for use as dressing materials, exhibiting antimicrobial properties. In addition, they can be carriers of drugs and biological macromolecules, and can be used in gene therapy, tissue engineering and construction of biosensors. For this reason, potential application areas of chitosan-carbon nanotube nanocomposites in medical sciences are presented in this publication, considering the characteristics of the system components.

Combinations of biopolymers with nanostructured carbon materials have been the subject of interest of many scientists in recent years. Particularly significant are nanocomposites made of chitosan, which is a linear aminopolysaccharide obtained in the process of deacetylation of chitin, and graphene oxide (GO). These systems, due to the atypical properties of both components such as non-toxicity, biocompatibility with human tissues and organs as well as bacteriostaticity, are characterised by a wide range of biomedical applications. They may be used in emergency medicine as dressing materials which accelerate wound healing, as well as carriers of drugs/genes and biological macromolecules, for example proteins, peptides and nucleic acids. In addition, CS-GO systems can potentially be used in regenerative medicine as scaffolds for cell culture. For this reason, the current publication presents the possibilities of the application of chitosan–graphene oxide nanocomposites in medicine considering the characteristics of the system components.

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Damage to the nervous system, in particular spinal cord injuries, is a burden for the patient and is usually the cause of irreversible disability. The progress observed in the last decade in the fields of biology, biomaterial engineering and neurosurgery has created new treatment solutions while preventing further neurodegenerative processes. The most important research is focused on the implementation of polymer structures in clinical practice, especially chitosan hydrogels, which are the scaffolds for regenerating axons. This article presents a new generation of biomaterials that have the ability to gel in response to temperature changes; they are intended for injectable scaffolds for nerve cell cultures. Two types of hydrogels were prepared based on chitosan lactate and chitosan chloride using uridine 5’-monophosphate disodium salt. The structure of the systems was observed under a scanning electron microscope and examined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In addition, thermal properties were tested using differential scanning calorimetry.