Chitosan (CS) is a well-known stabilizer for metal nanoparticles in biomedical engineering. However, very few studies have explored other important roles of CS including reducing, shape-directing, and size-controlling. This review aims to provide the latest and most comprehensive overview of the roles of CS in the green synthesis of metal nanoparticles for biomedical applications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review that highlights these potentialities of CS. At first, a brief overview of the properties and the bioactivity of CS is presented. Next, the benefits of CS for enhancing the physicochemical behaviors of metal nanoparticles are discussed in detail. The representative biomedical applications of CS-metal nanoparticles are also given. Lastly, the review outlines the perceptual vision for the future development of CS-metal nanoparticles in the biomedicine field.
Abstract.A pH-triggered drug delivery system of degradable core cross-linked (CCL) prodrug micelles was prepared by click chemistry. Doxorubicin conjugated block copolymers of azido functional poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(glycidyl methacrylate) were synthesized by the combination of RAFT polymerization, epoxide ring-opening reaction, and acid-cleavable hydrazone linkages. The CCL prodrug micelles were produced by the reaction of dipropargyl 3,3′-dithiodipropionate and dipropargyl adipate cross-linking agents with the azido groups of the micellar core via alkyne-azide click reaction, which were denoted as CCL/SS and CCL/noSS, respectively. The TEM images of CCL/SS prodrug micelles showed a spherical shape with the average diameter of 61.0 nm from water, and the shape was maintained with an increased diameter upon dilution with 5-fold DMF. The high DOX conjugation efficiency was 88.4%. In contrast to a very slow DOX release from CCL/SS prodrug micelles under the physiological condition (pH 7.4), the drug release is much faster (90%) at pH 5.0 and 10 mM of GSH after 96 h. The cytotoxicity test and confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis revealed that CCL/SS prodrug micelles had much enhanced intracellular drug release capability in HepG2 cells than CCL/noSS prodrug micelles.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.