Chitosan-based nanomaterials: Pioneering a review in veterinary medicine applications

With the rapid development of nanotechnology, chitosan (CS)-based materials have attracted great attention in the field of veterinary medicine. CS, a natural biopolymer with a modifiable structure and abundant functional groups, is widely utilized in biomedicine, pharmaceuticals, and food applications due to its nontoxic, biocompatible, antibacterial, and biodegradable properties. In this paper, the research and application of CS-based materials in veterinary medicine field in recent years are analyzed and summarized. The physical and chemical properties of CS and the multifunctional CS-based nanomaterials obtained by chemical modification are discussed. The applications of CS-based materials in veterinary fields, including gene therapy, tumor, feed additives, antibacterial agents and wound healing, were mainly introduced. In addition, CS-based materials can also be used in veterinary medicine fields such as drug delivery systems, disease diagnosis and vaccine adjuvants, showing good application prospects.