Chitosan in Oral Drug Delivery Formulations: A Review

Abstract

Nanoformulations have become increasingly useful as drug delivery technologies in recent decades. As therapeutics, oral administration is the most common delivery method, although it is not always the most effective route because of challenges with swallowing, gastrointestinal discomfort, low solubility, and poor absorption. One of the most significant barriers that medications must overcome to exert a therapeutic effect is the impact of the first hepatic transit. Studies have shown that controlled-release systems using nanoparticles composed of biodegradable natural polymers significantly improve oral administration, which is why these materials have attracted significant attention. Chitosan possesses a wide variety of properties and functions in the pharmaceutical as well as healthcare industries. Drug encapsulation and transport within the body are two of its most important features. Moreover, chitosan can enhance drug efficacy by facilitating drug interaction with target cells. Based on its physicochemical properties, chitosan can potentially be synthesized into nanoparticles, and this review summarizes recent advances and applications of orally delivered chitosan nanoparticle interventions.

Lipoic acid-mediated oral drug delivery system utilizing changes on cell surface thiol expression for the treatment of diabetes and inflammatory diseases

“…For orally-administered NPs, maintaining the structural integrity under rigorous conditions of the gastrointestinal tract was imperative. 30–32 This ensured that orally-delivered drug-loaded NPs retained their nanoparticle form before eliciting therapeutic effects. The fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) effect of co-loaded DiI/DiO NPs was utilized.…”

Oral bioavailability of a noncoding RNA drug, TY1, that acts on macrophages

“…Similarly, chitosan has been shown to exert immunostimulatory properties 20,21 and systemically deliver orally-administered-siRNA 22 . However, challenges with using chitosan exclusively for oral formulation include limited permeability across the intestinal epithelium 23 . Conversely, casein facilitates uptake by cells and enhances sustained bioavailability 24 .…”

α-Chitosan and β-Oligochitosan Mixtures-Based Formula for In Vitro Assessment of Melanocyte Cells Response

“…A number of experiments highlight the versatility of chitosan and its use in various anticancer applications, either as codelivery of oxaliplatin and rapamycin for synergistic chemotherapy [ 80 ] or by triggering other mechanisms, such as inhibition of the permeation-glycoprotein (P-gp), a protein with an important role in the management of cancer [ 81 ].…”