Characteristics of chitosan as a biomaterial
| Sl no. | Properties of chitosan as a biomaterial scaffold for engineering skin substitutes and to accelerate wound healing | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biodegradability | Chitosan is amenable to enzymatic hydrolysis by lysozyme & lipase present in the body [49] & bacteria [50] |
| 2 | Cytocompatibility | Chitosan exhibits good cytocompatibility towards keratinocytes, fibroblasts, dorsal root ganglion neurons, and Schwann cells [51–53] |
| 3 | Hemostatic effects | Chitosan can adhere to red blood cells and encourages platelets to adhere, activate, and aggregate at the site of vascular injury [54] |
| 4 | Anti-inflammatory | Chitosan inhibits the release of different pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α & interleukins (IL)-6 [55], and IL-3, 4, 5 [56] |
| 5 | Angiogenesis | Chitosan can stimulate proliferation of keratinocytes, vascular cells, and dermal fibroblasts [57] |
| 6 | Mechanical stability | Mechanical properties of CS-based scaffolds can be enhanced through modifications like cross-linking or blending with other natural or synthetic polymers |
| 7 | Drug delivery | Chitosan has functional groups amenable to coupling bioactive molecules, nanoparticles and drugs for controlled release [58, 59] |
| 8 | Antibacterial property | The positive charge of chitosan forms electrostatic interactions between the chitosan molecule and the bacterial cell wall |