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Chitosan: Potential Applications in Pharmaceutical Industries and Medicine

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomaterials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 18071

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Piergiorgio Gentile

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Guest Editor

School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Interests: tissue engineering; surface nanofunctionalisation; scaffold; biopolymers; bioprinting; electrospinning

Dr. Chiara Tonda-Turo

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Guest Editor

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Interests: tissue engineering; polymers; hydrogels; nanostructured membranes and surfaces

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is related to the high potential of chitosan in applications in biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. Chitosan, obtained by alkaline deacetylation from chitin, is a basic natural polysaccharide having excellent biocompatibility features and antimicrobial activity which foreseen its potential in many medical applications such as drug delivery systems, wound-healing agents, and scaffolds for peripheral nerve and chondral repair. The main drawback of chitosan are the weak mechanical properties and high solubility and fast release in aqueous solution. Different strategies can be exploited in order to improve them, such as physical or chemical crosslinking, formation of blends with other polymers (synthetic or natural-based) or composite with the addition of appropriate fillers.

All researchers working in the field are cordially invited to contribute original research papers or reviews to this Special Issue of Materials, which focuses on new chitosan processing methods, on the manufacturing of chitosan-based scaffolds and hydrogels for tissue engineering, on the design of innovative chitosan-based drug delivery systems, as well as on the characterization of chemical–physical properties with advanced analyses.

Dr. Piergiorgio Gentile
Dr. Chiara Tonda-Turo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Chitosan
Tissue engineering
Pharmaceutical field
Drug delivery
Hydrogel
Scaffold
Electrospinning
Peripheral nerve
Cartilage
Bone
Natural polymer
Functionalisation

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 1986 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Chitosan/Essential Oils Formulations for Potential Use as Wound Dressing: Physical and Antimicrobial Properties

by Elaine Pereira dos Santos, Pedro Henrique Medeiros Nicácio, Francivandi Coêlho Barbosa, Henrique Nunes da Silva, André Luís Simões Andrade, Marcus Vinícius Lia Fook, Suédina Maria de Lima Silva and Itamara Farias Leite

Materials 2019, 12(14), 2223; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12142223 - 10 Jul 2019

Cited by 70 | Viewed by 5694

Abstract

Film-forming emulsions and films, prepared by incorporating different concentrations of clove essential oil (CEO) and melaleuca essential oil (MEO) into chitosan (CS) were obtained and their properties were evaluated. Film-forming emulsions were characterized in terms of qualitative assessment, hydrogen potential and in vitro antibacterial activity, that was carried by the agar diffusion method, and the growth inhibition effects were tested on the Gram-positive microorganism of Staphylococcus aureus, Gram-negative microorganisms of Escherichia coli, and against isolated fungi such as Candida albicans. In order to study the impact of the incorporation of CEO and MEO into the CS matrix, the appearance and thickness of the films were evaluated. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle measurements, a swelling test, scanning electron microscopy and a tensile test were carried out. Results showed that the film-forming emulsions had translucent aspect with cloudy milky appearance and showed antimicrobial properties. The CEO had the highest inhibition against the three strains studied. As regards the films’ properties, the coloration of the films was affected by the type and concentration of bioactive used. The chitosan/CEO films showed an intense yellowish coloration while the chitosan/MEO films presented a slightly yellowish coloration, but in general, all chitosan/EOs films presented good transparency in visible light besides flexibility, mechanical resistance when touched, smaller thicknesses than the dermis and higher wettability than chitosan films, in both distilled water and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). The interactions between the chitosan and EOs were confirmed by. The chitosan/EOs films presented morphologies with rough appearance and with EOs droplets in varying shapes and sizes, well distributed along the surface of the films, and the tensile properties were compatible to be applied as wound dressings. These results revealed that the CEO and MEO have a good potential to be incorporated into chitosan to make films for wound-healing applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chitosan: Potential Applications in Pharmaceutical Industries and Medicine)

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18 pages, 2923 KiB

Open AccessArticle

N-Acetyl-D-Glucosamine-Loaded Chitosan Filaments Biodegradable and Biocompatible for Use as Absorbable Surgical Suture Materials

by Milena Costa da Silva, Henrique Nunes da Silva, Rita de Cássia Alves Leal Cruz, Solomon Kweku Sagoe Amoah, Suédina Maria de Lima Silva and Marcus Vinícius Lia Fook

Materials 2019, 12(11), 1807; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12111807 - 04 Jun 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4090

Abstract

The aim of this study was to prepare chitosan (CS) filaments incorporated with N-acetyl-D-Glucosamine (GlcNAc), using the wet spinning method, in order to combine the GlcNAc pharmacological properties with the CS biological properties for use as absorbable suture materials. The filaments were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), uniaxial tensile testing, in vitro biodegradation, and through in vitro drug release and cytotoxicity studies. It was observed that the addition of GlcNAc did not alter the morphology of the filaments. The CS and CS/GlcNAc filaments presented diameters 145 µm and 148 µm, respectively, and the surfaces were homogeneous. Although the mechanical resistance of the chitosan filaments decreased with the incorporation of the GlcNAc drug, this property was greater than the mean values indicated in the U.S. Pharmacopeia (1.7 N) for suture number 6-0 (filament diameter of 100–149 μm). The biodegradation of the CS filaments was accelerated by the addition of GlcNAc. After 35 days, the CS/GlcNAc filaments degradability was at its total, and for the CS filaments it was acquired in 49 days. The in vitro kinetic of the release process was of the zero-order and Hopfenberg models, controlled by both diffusion and erosion process. The in vitro cytotoxicity data of the CS and CS/GlcNAc filaments toward L929 cells showed that these filaments are nontoxic to these cells. Thus, the GlcNAc-loaded CS filaments might be promising as absorbable suture materials. In addition, this medical device may be able to enhance healing processes, relieve pain, and minimize infection at the surgery site due the prolonged release of GlcNAc. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chitosan: Potential Applications in Pharmaceutical Industries and Medicine)

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10 pages, 1653 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Functional Fibronectin Adsorption on Aptamer-Doped Chitosan Modulates Cell Morphology by Integrin-Mediated Pathway

by Ludovica Parisi, Andrea Toffoli, Massimiliano G. Bianchi, Carlo Bergonzi, Annalisa Bianchera, Ruggero Bettini, Lisa Elviri and Guido M. Macaluso

Materials 2019, 12(5), 812; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12050812 - 08 Mar 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3226

Abstract

A decisive step in cell-biomaterial interaction is represented by the adsorption of proteins at the interface, whose fine control may be useful to trigger proper cell response. To this purpose, we can selectively control protein adsorption on biomaterials by means of aptamers. Aptamers selected to recognize fibronectin dramatically enhance chitosan ability to promote cell proliferation and adhesion, but the underlying biological mechanism remains unknown. We supposed that aptamers contributed to ameliorate the adsorption of fibronectin in an advantageous geometrical conformation for cells, thus regulating their morphology by the proper activation of the integrin-mediated pathway. We investigated this possibility by culturing epithelial cells on chitosan enriched with increasing doses of aptamers in the presence or in the absence of cytoskeleton pharmacological inhibitors. Our results showed that aptamers control cell morphology in a dose dependent manner (p < 0.0001). Simultaneously, when the inhibition of actin polymerization was induced, the control of cell morphology was attenuated (p < 0.0001), while no differences were detected when cells contractility was challenged (p > 0.05). Altogether, our data provide evidence that aptamers contribute to control fibronectin adsorption on biomaterials by preserving its conformation and thus function. Furthermore, our work provides a new insight into a new way to accurately tailor material surface bioactivity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chitosan: Potential Applications in Pharmaceutical Industries and Medicine)

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18 pages, 13225 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ionically Crosslinked Chitosan Membranes Used as Drug Carriers for Cancer Therapy Application

by Alecsandra Ferreira Tomaz, Sandra Maria Sobral de Carvalho, Rossemberg Cardoso Barbosa, Suédina M. L. Silva, Marcos Antônio Sabino Gutierrez, Antônio Gilson B. de Lima and Marcus Vinícius L. Fook

Materials 2018, 11(10), 2051; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11102051 - 20 Oct 2018

Cited by 55 | Viewed by 4518

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to prepare, by the freeze-drying method, ionically crosslinked chitosan membranes with different contents of pentasodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) and loaded with 1,4-naphthoquinone (NQ14) drug, in order to evaluate how the physical crosslinking affects NQ14 release from chitosan membranes for cancer therapy application. The membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), swelling degree, and through in vitro drug release and cytotoxicity studies. According to the results, the molecular structure, porosity and hydrophilicity of the chitosan membranes were affected by TPP concentration and, consequently, the NQ14 drug release behavior from the membranes was also affected. The release of NQ14 from crosslinked chitosan membranes decreased when the cross-linker TPP quantity increased. Thus, depending on the TPP amount, the crosslinked chitosan membranes would be a potential delivery system to control the release of NQ14 for cancer therapy application. Lastly, the inhibitory potential of chitosan membranes ionically crosslinked with TPP and loaded with NQ14 against the B16F10 melanoma cell line was confirmed through in vitro cytotoxicity studies assessed via MTT assay. The anti-proliferative effect of prepared membranes was directly related to the amount of cross-linker and among all membranes prepared, such that one crosslinked with 0.3% of TPP may become a potential delivery system for releasing NQ14 drug for cancer therapy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chitosan: Potential Applications in Pharmaceutical Industries and Medicine)

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