Application of chitosan and its derivatives in drug delivery

Drug delivery is a method of delivering drug to the patients in a way which increases the concentration of drug to the relevant site by directing the drug to the specific site of action. Polymeric drug delivery systems are mostly preferred to take the drug to the specific site of action and achieve the therapeutic effect. Among different types of biocompatible polymers, carbohydrate-based polymers or polysaccharides are the most common natural polymers with complex structures consisting of long chains of monosaccharide or disaccharide units bound by glycosidic linkages. One such polymer is chitosan which is used in drug delivery. Chitosan’s appealing properties, especially of natural origin, may mediate the protection against degradation of the biologically active substance, control the release of the drug, boost the absorption, increase the physiological action and result in a consequent reduction in the rate of administration. Another advantage of using chitosan is its chemical structure that could be modified easily which makes chitosan derivatives used for different applications. The main objective is to provide an overview on chitosan and its derivatives applications in drug delivery.