Overcoming the protein corona in chitosan-based nanoparticles

Cytotoxicity Enhancement in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells with Depolymerized Chitosan Delivery of α-Mangostin

“…The depolymerization reaction of CS–HMW to CS–LMW can be carried out enzymatically, physically, and chemically [ 51 ]. Industrially, chemical treatment for acid degradation is preferred because it is convenient, low-cost, fast, scalable, and produces reproducible CS–LMW mixtures [ 52 , 53 ].…”

“…The CS–LMW was 20 kDa with a DDA of 75.0%. This CS was classified as CS–LMW (<50 kDa) [ 51 ]. CS–LMW with high DDA is expected to dissolve in a much wider pH range than CS–HMW.…”

“…DDA and MW impact in vivo biodegradability. High MW degrades slowly in vivo, increasing its propensity to accumulate in tissues [ 51 ].…”

“…The increase in the N-glucosamine sequence increases the amorphous part of the structure because the removal of the acetyl group promotes the destabilization of the hydrogen bonds (HO3···O5) between the acetamide groups. The deterioration begins predominantly in the amorphous area and then moves very slowly from the crystal zone’s border to its center [ 49 , 51 , 62 , 63 ]. The crystal structure is broken, and crystallinity decreases with deeper damage [ 41 , 63 ].…”

“…This study showed that the shape of the NPs of CS–LMW and CS–HMW is spherical, as depicted in Figure 3 . The spherical morphology of the particles was not affected by the increase in MW of CS [ 51 ]. Because of the complexation between oppositely charged species, CS undergoes ionic gelation and precipitates to form spherical particles [ 56 ].…”