Abstract
Polysaccharide-based biomaterials are an emerging class in several biomedical fields such as tissue regeneration, particularly for cartilage, drug delivery devices and gel-entrapment systems for the immobilization of cells. Important properties of the polysaccharides include controllable biological activity, biodegradability, and their ability to form hydrogels. Most of the polysaccharides used derive from natural sources; particularly, alginate and chitin, two polysaccharides which have an extensive history of use in medicine, pharmacy and basic sciences, and can be easily extracted from marine plants (algae kelp) and crab shells, respectively. The recent rediscovery of poly-saccharide-based materials is also attributable to new synthetic routes for their chemical modification, with the aim of promoting new biological activities and/or to modify the final properties of the biomaterials for specific purposes. These synthetic strategies also involve the combination of polysaccharides with other polymers. A review of the more recent research in the field of chemical modification of alginate, chitin and its derivative chitosan is presented. Moreover, we report as case studies the results of our recent work concerning various different approaches and applications of polysaccharide-based biomaterials, such as the realization of novel composites based on calcium sulphate blended with alginate and with a chemically modified chitosan, the synthesis of novel alginate-poly(ethylene glycol) copolymers and the development of a family of materials based on alginate and acrylic polymers of potential interest as drug delivery systems.
Highlights
Polysaccharides as biomaterialsOver the last few years, medical and pharmaceutical industries have shown an increased interest in biopolymers in general and in alginates in particular
Polysaccharide-based biomaterials are an emerging class in several biomedical fields such as tissue regeneration, for cartilage, drug delivery devices and gelentrapment systems for the immobilization of cells
Alginate is an effective natural disintegrant, tablet binder and offers an attractive alternative for sustained-release systems. It offers advantages over synthetic polymers as it forms hydrogels under relatively mild pH and temperature and is generally regarded as non-toxic, biocompatible, biodegradable, less expensive and abundantly available in nature; in addition, alginate meets the important requirement of being amenable to sterilization and storage
Summary
Over the last few years, medical and pharmaceutical industries have shown an increased interest in biopolymers in general and in alginates in particular. It offers advantages over synthetic polymers as it forms hydrogels under relatively mild pH and temperature and is generally regarded as non-toxic, biocompatible, biodegradable, less expensive and abundantly available in nature; in addition, alginate meets the important requirement of being amenable to sterilization and storage All these advantages make alginates very useful materials for biomedical applications, especially for controlled delivery of drugs and other biologically active compounds and for the encapsulation of cells. Chitin is used as an excipient and drug carrier in film, gel or powder form for applications involving mucoadhesivity Another interesting application is in association with chitosan for a hydroxyapatite composite bone-filling material, which forms a self-hardening paste for guided tissue regeneration in treatment of periodontal bony defects [18]. Biomineralized alginate/chitosan microcapsules have been proposed as multifunctional scaffolds and delivery vehicles in tissue regeneration of hard and soft tissues [32]
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