Chitosan-Based Biomaterials for Tissue Regeneration

Abstract

Chitosan is a chitin-derived biopolymer that has shown great potential for tissue regeneration and controlled drug delivery. It has numerous qualities that make it attractive for biomedical applications such as biocompatibility, low toxicity, broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, and many others. Importantly, chitosan can be fabricated into a variety of structures including nanoparticles, scaffolds, hydrogels, and membranes, which can be tailored to deliver a desirable outcome. Composite chitosan-based biomaterials have been demonstrated to stimulate in vivo regeneration and the repair of various tissues and organs, including but not limited to, bone, cartilage, dental, skin, nerve, cardiac, and other tissues. Specifically, de novo tissue formation, resident stem cell differentiation, and extracellular matrix reconstruction were observed in multiple preclinical models of different tissue injuries upon treatment with chitosan-based formulations. Moreover, chitosan structures have been proven to be efficient carriers for medications, genes, and bioactive compounds since they can maintain the sustained release of these therapeutics. In this review, we discuss the most recently published applications of chitosan-based biomaterials for different tissue and organ regeneration as well as the delivery of various therapeutics.

Tailoring biomaterials for biomimetic organs-on-chips

“…; 71 chitosan shows practical values in repairing defective bone, cartilage, skin, liver, vascular, and cardiac tissues. 72 When integrated into microfluidic systems, these biomaterials with in vivo -like physical and biochemical properties could effectively maintain the cell viability, facilitate structural organization, and recover the function of organ cells. 73 The difference in the progression from tissue engineering to organs-on-chips is the that size of biomaterials for tissue engineering should match with the studied tissues or organs, while the biomaterials for organs-on-chips are usually designed into microscale sizes to match the microfluidic chambers.…”

Construction of dental pulp decellularized matrix by cyclic lavation combined with mechanical stirring and its proteomic analysis

“…An ideal organoid matrix should possess high biocompatibility, good mechanical properties, degradability, and the ability to simulate the microenvironment to support and enhance cellular activities, such as proliferation, migration and differentiation [10]. To date, several natural and synthetic materials, including collagen [11], gelatin [12], polyethylene glycol [13], chitosan [14], and hyaluronic acid [15], have been used to generate organoids; these materials do not meet all of the requirements of the ideal organoid matrix [10]. A decellularized matrix retains the native tissue structure and provides an optimal microenvironment for cell survival, as well as a porous nanofiber scaffold that facilitates stem cell attachment, proliferation, and infiltration, while preserving the structural integrity of nanofibers [16].…”

Alginate-Based Biomaterials in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

“…In addition, chitosan has limited mechanical strength and needs chemical modifications to improve its characteristics. It appears that alginate-based biomaterials have several advantages over chitosan-based biomaterials owing to their high biocompatibility, ease of formation into hydrogels, adjustable degradation rate, and good mechanical features [ 43 , 44 ]. This review endeavored to elaborately discuss the current applications of alginate-based biomaterials in TE-RM, with a focus on recent advancements, important challenges, and future perspectives.…”