Perspectives of Chitin and Chitosan Nanofibrous Scaffolds in Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Chitin and its deacetylated derivative, chitosan, are non-toxic, biodegradable biopolymers currently being developed for use in biomedical applications such as tissue engineering scaffolds, wound dressings, separation membranes, antibacterial coatings, stent coatings, and sensors. Recently, nano fibrous scaffolds based on chitin or chitosan have potential applications in tissue engineering. Tissue engineering is one of the most exciting interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research areas today, and there has been exponential growth in the number of research publications in this area in recent years. It involves the use of living cells, manipulated through their extracellular environment or genetically to develop biological substitutes for implantation into the body and/or to foster remodeling of tissues in some active manners. Electrospun chitin and chitosan nano fibrous scaffolds would be used to produce tissue engineering scaffolds with improved cytocompatibility, which could mimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM). Electrospinning is truly a feasible means of producing nano fibrous scaffolds that resemble the ECM, however, moreover than this, it is imperative that the effects of an artificial matrix has on cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation. This review summarizes the recent progress in chitin and chitosan based nano fibrous scaffolds with an emphasis in tissue engineering applications.