Chitosan-Based Oral Drug Delivery System for Peptide, Protein and Vaccine Delivery

Abstract

Oral delivery is the most common and preferred route of drug administration due to its convenience and ease of administration. However, various factors such as poor solubility, low dissolution rate, stability, and bioavailability of many drugs remain an ongoing challenge in achieving desired therapeutic levels. The delivery of drugs must overcome various obstacles, including the acidic gastric environment, the presence of the intestinal efflux and influx transporters and the continuous secretion of mucus that protects the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). As the number and chemical diversity of drugs has increased, various strategies are required to develop orally active therapeutics. One of the approaches is to use chitosan as a carrier for oral delivery of peptides, proteins as well as vaccines delivery. Chitosan, a non-toxic N-deacetylated derivative of chitin appears to be under intensive progress during the last years towards the development of safe and efficient chitosan-based drug delivery systems. This polymer has been recognised as a versatile biomaterial because of its biodegradability, biocompatibility, and non-toxicity. This chapter reviews the physicochemical characteristics of chitosan and the strategies that have been successfully applied to improve oral proteins, peptides, and vaccines bioavailability, primarily through various formulation strategies.

Synthesis and characterization of chitosan for medical applications: A review

“…86 Lower crystallinity can improve the solubility and processability of chitosan, making it more suitable for medical applications such as drug delivery systems. 87 Impacts of DDA on the biocompatibility, biodegradability and mechanical properties of chitosan. The degree of DDA significantly impacts the biocompatibility of chitosan, as higher DDA levels tend to enhance its compatibility with biological systems, as evidenced by Riccardo.…”

“…61 However, the most used and important ones are, FTIR, viscometric analysis, AFM, XRD, NMR, and SEM. [79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92]…”

“…86 Lower crystallinity can improve the solubility and processability of chitosan, making it more suitable for medical applications such as drug delivery systems. 87…”

Activity of a Recombinant Chitinase of the Atta sexdens Ant on Different Forms of Chitin and Its Fungicidal Effect against Lasiodiplodia theobromae

“…Chitin is a polysaccharide that occurs abundantly in nature and is a structural component of many organisms, such as mollusks, fungi, and arthropods [ 1 ]. Composed of a linear chain of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) monomers, linked by β-(1-4) glycosidic bonds [ 2 ], chitin occurs in nature as three polymorphs called α-, β-, and γ-chitin [ 3 ]. These polymorphs have different arrangements of their polymer chains in the crystalline domains, which results in marked differences in their physicochemical properties, such as their crystallinity and swelling capacity.…”

Synthesis of chitosan-graft-methacrylate with enhanced antimicrobial activity for improved mucoadhesive properties and controlled drug delivery systems

“…CS-based delivery systems have been extensively used for the oral administration of therapeutic agents, including anti-infectives, anticancer drugs, peptides, proteins, genes, nucleic acids, and vaccines (Bernkop-Schnürch and Dünnhaupt, 2012). Thus, CS and its derivatives are promising candidates for the development of oral drug delivery systems (Siti Zuhairah and Khuriah Abdul, 2021).…”