Chitosan-Based Drug Delivery System: Applications in Fish Biotechnology

Abstract

Chitosan is increasingly used for safe nucleic acid delivery in gene therapy studies, due to well-known properties such as bioadhesion, low toxicity, biodegradability and biocompatibility. Furthermore, chitosan derivatization can be easily performed to improve the solubility and stability of chitosan–nucleic acid polyplexes, and enhance efficient target cell drug delivery, cell uptake, intracellular endosomal escape, unpacking and nuclear import of expression plasmids. As in other fields, chitosan is a promising drug delivery vector with great potential for the fish farming industry. This review highlights state-of-the-art assays using chitosan-based methodologies for delivering nucleic acids into cells, and focuses attention on recent advances in chitosan-mediated gene delivery for fish biotechnology applications. The efficiency of chitosan for gene therapy studies in fish biotechnology is discussed in fields such as fish vaccination against bacterial and viral infection, control of gonadal development and gene overexpression and silencing for overcoming metabolic limitations, such as dependence on protein-rich diets and the low glucose tolerance of farmed fish. Finally, challenges and perspectives on the future developments of chitosan-based gene delivery in fish are also discussed.

Modulation of Macrophages M1/M2 Polarization Using Carbohydrate-Functionalized Polymeric Nanoparticles

“…This can be attributed to compound degradation due to pH variation and enzymatic activity in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract or poor permeability across intestinal biological membranes [ 119 , 121 , 122 ]. Delivery systems such as carbohydrate-functionalized polymeric nanoparticles are able to provide protection from degradation in the GI tract, increase absorption by the intestinal epithelium due to its mucoadhesive properties (e.g., PLGA, chitosan, and alginate) and cell or tissue-targeted delivery and sustained release [ 121 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 ]. Gentamicin (GM) is an antibiotic that can only be administered in parenteral form or in topical formulations, and it cannot be orally administered due to enzymatic degradation and poor bioavailability.…”

Halloysite Nanotubes Coated by Chitosan for the Controlled Release of Khellin

“…In recent years, hybrid nanomaterials composed by biopolymers and inorganic nanoparticles have attracted growing interest within several fields, including biomedicine [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ], pharmaceutics [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ], food packaging [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ], remediation [ 16 , 17 ] and cultural heritage [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. As evidenced in a recent review [ 21 ], both ionic and non-ionic polysaccharides can be suitable polymers for the development of functional nanocomposites, with excellent performances in terms of thermal stability, barrier properties and mechanical behavior.…”

Thymol-based Chitosan Nanogels Have Strong Antibacterial and Anti-biofilm Effects on Multidrug-resistant Pathogens

“…According to previous studies, chitosan amino groups are responsible for properties such as; Controlled drug release, mucosal adhesion, increased penetration, and bacterial growth inhibitory and inhibitory properties of the efflux pump [34]. By converting chitosan polymer to nanoparticles, its chemical properties can be improved and the transport efficiency of drugs can be increased [35].…”