6 - Preparation and therapeutic applications of chitosan nanoparticles

Abstract

Chitosan nanoparticles revolutionized the drug delivery methods in the recent years due to their versatile properties and ease of manipulation. Among all the delivery systems, chitosan nanoparticles are most extensively explored for therapeutic and drug delivery applications. Chitosan nanoparticles are easy to prepare by different methods and can be administrated by various routes for better delivery of therapeutic agents. In present chapter, we discuss two main aspects of chitosan nanoparticles. First, chitosan nanoparticles preparation methods will be discussed that include ionotropic gelation method, microemulsion cross-linking method, emulsification solvent diffusion, spray drying, reverse micellar method, and complex coacervation method. The role of variety of cross-linkers stability and cellular interactions of chitosan nanoparticles has been also briefly discussed. In the second part, various delivery routes for delivery of therapeutic molecules via chitosan nanoparticles-based delivery systems will be reviewed. Chitosan nanoparticles are being widely used to enhance the efficiency of drugs or other therapeutic agents such as peptides and proteins by pulmonary, oral, transdermal, and ocular delivery strategies. Chitosan nanoparticles are not limited to therapeutic delivery systems and their applications in various other fields have been also discussed to highlight their immerse potential in nanobiotechnology.