Chitosan and its derivatives as potential biomaterials for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications: A comprehensive review on green extraction approaches, recent progresses, and perspectives

Abstract

Background

Nowadays, the search for new renewable and broad-spectrum natural biopolymers for biotechnological and medical applications has become an absolute necessity. Chitin and its deacetylated derivative, chitosan, are considered interesting and auspicious biopolymers being potentially applied in a wide range of biotechnological sectors, including medicine, food beverages, agriculture, and cosmetics, owing to their enormous ability to undergo changes in structure and mechanical properties to generate new functions (used as a matrix in beads, membranes, gels, etc.) and applications.

Scope and Approach: The current review provides a comprehensive report summarizing research on the routine chemical and greener non-conventional extraction methodologies of chitin and chitosan and focuses on the progress in their application over the past two decades, in terms of challenges, opportunities, and future perspectives.

Key Findings and Conclusions: Chitosan is an effective material with enormous potential for biotechnology and medicine owing to its biocompatible, biodegradable, and non-toxic traits, besides its antimicrobial potential and low immunogenic potency. To standardize applications in the industrial field considering cost-effectiveness and biocompatibility, the search for innovative recovery and production methods for chitin/chitosan-based materials industrialization is required. Conventional chemical chitin extraction approaches present drawbacks and induce numerous environmental issues. Greener extraction technologies have recently perceived considerable advancement in the polymer chemistry field. This review can serve as a guideline for exploring nature-originated biopolymers as innovative feedstocks for several technologies that show highly appealing potential for application in countless fields.