CHITOSAN – A VERSATILE POLYMER FOR TARGETED DRUG DELIVERY

Chitosan has attracted attention of researchers working in the field of nanomedicine worldwide as effective drug delivery system. It is nontoxic, biocompatible, biodegradable, cationic polysaccharide. Being natural cationic polymer, it strongly interacts with anionic biomacromolecules and holds them tightly to deliver into systemic circulation without any toxicity to epithelium tissues. However, CS shows limited solubility at neutral or higher pH value. The main of the review is major advantage in choosing chitosan for drug delivery is mainly due to its biodegradable, biocompatible, nontoxic & mucoadhesive properties. However, the challenges involving the use of high cost materials, large amount of chemical agents, tedious as well as time-consuming process prevent the real world large scale applications of chitosan drug carriers. Presently, a variety of chitosan-based drug delivery materials in the forms of gels, tablets, films and particle have been developed and studied.