Chitosan grafted/cross-linked with biodegradable polymers: A review

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Growing need for biodegradable polymers as alternatives to petrochemical-based plastics.
• Chitosan (CH) is a biodegradable biopolymer with desirable properties but requires modification to overcome limitations.
• Chemical modifications are crucial for improving chitosan's solubility, bioactivity, and mechanical strength.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically analyze chemical modifications of chitosan (CH) and its derivatives.
• To review cross-linking and graft polymerization techniques for CH-based biodegradable polymers.
• To explore the potential of modified CH in various applications.

Main Methods:

• Review of chemical modification strategies for chitosan.
• Focus on cross-linking and graft polymerization techniques.
• Analysis of CH combined with other biodegradable polymers (polysaccharides, proteins).

Main Results:

• Cross-linking and graft polymerization introduce diverse functional groups into chitosan.
• Modified chitosan exhibits enhanced properties suitable for specific applications.
• Chitosan derivatives show potential in drug delivery, antimicrobial fabrics, dye removal, and bone tissue engineering.

Conclusions:

• Chemical modification significantly improves chitosan's characteristics.
• Tailored chitosan-based materials can be developed for advanced applications.
• Modified chitosan holds great promise for sustainable and biomedical fields.