Chitosan-derivative based hydrogels as drug delivery platforms: applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering

Chitosan is a biodegradable, biocompatible and non-irritant polymer that exhibits good mechanical strength and adhesion. These characteristics make it suitable for applications in controlled delivery systems and tissue engineering. Chitosan gels may be easily obtained by a cross-linking reaction. These hydrogels exhibit good swelling properties and are widely used as a temporary extracellular matrix in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as well as controlled drug delivery matrices. Considerable advances have been made in this area throughout the past decade, including the development of novel formulations containing chitosan derivatives with improved properties. This area of research is providing the fundamental knowledge required to rationally develop new strategies for biomedical engineering to tackle problems related with regenerative therapy. This survey presents different biologically active chitosan systems designed for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications and assesses the parameters needed for these formulations to achieve improved properties.