2-Chitin.pdfVIP

Adv Biochem Engin/Biotechnol 2011 125: 1-27 DOI: 10.1007/10_2010_93 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010 Published Online: 12 November 2010 Chitin, Chitosan and Derivatives for Wound Healing and Tissue Engineering Antonio Francesko and Tzanko Tzanov Abstract Naturally derived polymers possess a number of properties bene?cial to wound healing and tissue engineering. The polysaccharides chitin and chitosan appear to be suitable candidates for the preparation of dressing materials and scaffolds for tissue regeneration due to their unique structural, physico-chemical and functional properties. Functionalization of these biopolymers for improvement of properties such as solubility or introduction of active functions and blending with other intrinsically bioactive polymers has attracted considerable attention in recent years. Such modi?cations would allow going beyond traditional approaches for treatments of dermal injuries. This chapter is a critical review of the advances in chitin and chitosan functionalization for wound-healing and tissue-engineering applications. Keywords Blends Chitin Chitosan Fibers Hydrogels Tissue engineering Wound dressing Contents 1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 2 2 Chitin and Chitosan............................................................................................................. 3 3 Enzymatic Modification of Chitin/Chitosan....................................................................... 4 3.1 Enzymatic Functionalization ...................................................................................... 5 3.2 Enzymatic Depolymerization ..................................................................................... 6 4 Chitin and Chitosan in Wound Healing and Tissue Repair .............................................. 7 4.1 Chemically M