2021/09/24 by Inmaculada Aranaz, Andrés R. Alcántara, Concepción Civera +4 · 1,657 citations
Chemistry · Engineering · Materials Science · Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics · #Advanced Drug Delivery Systems #Biochemical engineering #Chemistry #Chitosan #Composite material #Drug delivery #Engineering #Limiting #Materials science #Monomer #Nanocomposite Films for Food Packaging #Nanoparticles: synthesis and applications #Nanotechnology #Organic chemistry #Polymer #Polymer science #Solubility
paper · pdf · doi:10.3390/polym13193256
published in Polymers 13(19), 3256 (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)
openalex publication_date 2021/09/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Chitosan has garnered much interest due to its properties and possible applications. Every year the number of publications and patents based on this polymer increase. Chitosan exhibits poor solubility in neutral and basic media, limiting its use in such conditions. Another serious obstacle is directly related to its natural origin. Chitosan is not a single polymer with a defined structure but a family of molecules with differences in their composition, size, and monomer distribution. These properties have a fundamental effect on the biological and technological performance of the polymer. Moreover, some of the biological properties claimed are discrete. In this review, we discuss how chitosan chemistry can solve the problems related to its poor solubility and can boost the polymer properties. We focus on some of the main biological properties of chitosan and the relationship with the physicochemical properties of the polymer. Then, we review two polymer applications related to green processes: the use of chitosan in the green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles and its use as support for biocatalysts. Finally, we briefly describe how making use of the technological properties of chitosan makes it possible to develop a variety of systems for drug delivery.