Chitosan based composites and their applications in tissue engineering

• Published in: Encyclopedia of Marine Biotechnology
• Main Author: Khan N.R.; Shah K.U.; Nawaz A.; Wong T.W.
• Format: Book chapter
• Language: English
• Published: wiley 2020
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85114306674&doi=10.1002%2f9781119143802.ch38&partnerID=40&md5=31f32e5b430edf7032928e07ebd57d92

Over the past decade, functional biomaterials research has received great interest due to the versatility of biomaterials used in regenerative medicines. The main goal of tissue engineering and use of regenerative medicines is to assemble functional constructs that restore, maintain or improve damaged tissues or whole organs. Biodegradable polymeric materials and their composites have been widely explored for the said purpose. Chitosan is a polyelectrolyte with reactive functional groups, gel-forming capability and high adsorption capacity. It exhibits outstanding properties, likely structural similarity to glycosaminoglycan, innately biocompatible and non-toxic to living tissues as well as having antibacterial, antifungal and antitumor activity. In recent years, considerable attention has been given to chitosan for its applications in the field of tissue engineering and tissue regeneration due to its minimal foreign body reactions and suitability for cell ingrowth. Composite materials based on combination of biodegradable polymers and inorganic materials exhibit tailored physical, biological and mechanical properties as well as predictable degradation behavior. In this chapter, chitosan and chitosan composites for skin tissue engineering and regeneration applications are discussed. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd All rights reserved.