Chitosan-Based Biomaterials for Tissue Regeneration

Abstract

Chitosan is a chitin-derived biopolymer that has shown great potential for tissue regeneration and controlled drug delivery. It has numerous qualities that make it attractive for biomedical applications such as biocompatibility, low toxicity, broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, and many others. Importantly, chitosan can be fabricated into a variety of structures including nanoparticles, scaffolds, hydrogels, and membranes, which can be tailored to deliver a desirable outcome. Composite chitosan-based biomaterials have been demonstrated to stimulate in vivo regeneration and the repair of various tissues and organs, including but not limited to, bone, cartilage, dental, skin, nerve, cardiac, and other tissues. Specifically, de novo tissue formation, resident stem cell differentiation, and extracellular matrix reconstruction were observed in multiple preclinical models of different tissue injuries upon treatment with chitosan-based formulations. Moreover, chitosan structures have been proven to be efficient carriers for medications, genes, and bioactive compounds since they can maintain the sustained release of these therapeutics. In this review, we discuss the most recently published applications of chitosan-based biomaterials for different tissue and organ regeneration as well as the delivery of various therapeutics.

Tailoring biomaterials for biomimetic organs-on-chips

“…; 71 chitosan shows practical values in repairing defective bone, cartilage, skin, liver, vascular, and cardiac tissues. 72 When integrated into microfluidic systems, these biomaterials with in vivo -like physical and biochemical properties could effectively maintain the cell viability, facilitate structural organization, and recover the function of organ cells. 73 The difference in the progression from tissue engineering to organs-on-chips is the that size of biomaterials for tissue engineering should match with the studied tissues or organs, while the biomaterials for organs-on-chips are usually designed into microscale sizes to match the microfluidic chambers.…”

Natural vs Synthetic Polymers: How Do They Communicate with Cells for Skin Regeneration—A Review

“…The antibacterial effect of chitosan has been well established by several works [52]. Chitosan is widely combined with several polymers (synthetic and natural) and essential oils [53][54][55][56]. Additionally, due to its intrinsic physicochemical characteristics, it can be readily transformed into membranes, films, hydrogels, micro-or nanoparticles, and even into porous scaffolding systems [49][50][51]57,58].…”

Construction of dental pulp decellularized matrix by cyclic lavation combined with mechanical stirring and its proteomic analysis

“…An ideal organoid matrix should possess high biocompatibility, good mechanical properties, degradability, and the ability to simulate the microenvironment to support and enhance cellular activities, such as proliferation, migration and differentiation [10]. To date, several natural and synthetic materials, including collagen [11], gelatin [12], polyethylene glycol [13], chitosan [14], and hyaluronic acid [15], have been used to generate organoids; these materials do not meet all of the requirements of the ideal organoid matrix [10]. A decellularized matrix retains the native tissue structure and provides an optimal microenvironment for cell survival, as well as a porous nanofiber scaffold that facilitates stem cell attachment, proliferation, and infiltration, while preserving the structural integrity of nanofibers [16].…”