Chitosan Nanoparticles as a Promising Tool in Nanomedicine

Nanoparticles have gained tremendous interest in diversified fields such as cosmetics, the food industry, pollution control and nanomedicine. Research using nanomedicines has multifaceted applications in different fields such as disease diagnosis, imaging tools, high-throughput screening platforms, development of vaccines and drug delivery. Therapeutics involving nanomedicines are irreplaceable by any other techniques, as they have the sole advantage of using nanoparticles over other small molecular drugs. While there are many well-established nanoparticles, such as titanium and other non-metallic nanoparticles, chitosan has unique properties that attract researchers to use it in nanomedicines. Chitosan is a widely available bio-polymer, as they are present in the shells and exoskeletons of animals. Chitosan is a polycationic linear polysaccharide derived from chitin which is naturally present in the shells and exoskeletons of marine and non-marine animals. As the surface of chitosan is polycationic, it can be used to form hydrogenic and ionic bonds with drugs. Chitosan is also biocompatible, which makes it suitable for use in drug delivery systems. Chitosan can be characterised by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, Thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy . In addition, chitosan has excellent specificity and is used to deliver oncology-related drugs to a specific site. Also, it significantly reduces cell viability in cancer treatment owing to its antiproliferative effect. Finally, chitosan helps in wound healing by faster regenerating skin epithelial cells and collagen production by fibroblasts. Thus, the inflammatory phase is significantly reduced. In spite of the above beneficial features of chitosan, all novel chitosan-based nanoparticles require thorough and meticulous characterisation and cytotoxicity assessment before being implemented in the market. Overall, this chapter reviews recent innovations and research on chitosan-based nanoparticles being used in the area of nanomedicines with a spotlight on their challenges and future directions.