Multi-functional chitosan-based smart hydrogels mediated biomedical application

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Chitosan as a natural polysaccharide have been widely applied in biomedicine due to their outstanding biodegradability, non-toxic, and low-price. As carriers, the multi-functional chitosan hydrogels can be prepared by physical and chemical modification to form smart hydrogels to release cargoes. The smart hydrogels can generate sol–gel phase transition while gaining stimulus from the environment including pH, temperature, photo, and so forth. In recent years, a variety of therapeutic approaches such as gene therapy, chemotherapy, and combined therapy can be achieved by combining chitosan-based hydrogels with therapeutic agents.

Area covered: This review reports the state-of-the-art progress of chitosan-based hydrogel delivery systems and some new technologies and discusses the smart chitosan hydrogels. In addition, the current trends and the future prospects together with the drawbacks of chitosan hydrogels as biomaterials are also discussed.

Expert opinion: Chitosan as a natural material has been widely studied and reported. Due to its many advantages, the development of chitosan has been applied in all walks of life. However, the application of chitosan hydrogels in disease therapy is limited due to their weak physical and chemical properties in vivo. Thus, it is high likely that chitosan-based hydrogels will contribute to further research and exploration.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01278784.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT0232345.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02372669.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02668055.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00454831.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03007654.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01597817.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00521937.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03202446.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT0318828.

KEYWORDS:

• Chitosan
• smart hydrogel
• carrier
• biomedicine
• new technology

Article highlights

• The biomaterials having great properties are necessary for biomedicine applications, which contributes to develop pharmaceuticals industry.

• Chitosan-based hydrogels combined the excellent properties of chitosan and hydrogel, which offers its biodegradability, compatibility and low toxicity to make it a promising material in biomedicine.

• Smart hydrogels endow chitosan unique ability as carrier that can release cargoes in a controlled manner.

• As nanocarriers, chitosan-based hydrogels can load drug, cell, protein and gene, etc., in addition, it also can apply in some new technologies.

• Although chitosan-based hydrogels have the ability to deliver various cargoes in biomedicine, efforts to develop its properties are essential to make it better applications.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (81772693), National S&T Major Project (2015ZX09102010), Luzhou Science and Technology Plan (2018CDLZ-10) and Sichuan Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Support Project (2018JC021). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.