Singla A K, Chawla M
Pharmaceutics Division, University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.
J Pharm Pharmacol. 2001 Aug;53(8):1047-67. doi: 10.1211/0022357011776441.
Chitosan, a natural polysaccharide, is being widely used as a pharmaceutical excipient. It is obtained by the partial deacetylation of chitin, the second most abundant natural polymer. Chitosan comprises a series of polymers varying in their degree of deacetylation, molecular weight, viscosity, pKa etc. The presence of a number of amino groups permit chitosan to chemically react with anionic systems, thereby resulting in alteration of physicochemical characteristics of such combinations. Chitosan has found wide applicability in conventional pharmaceutical devices as a potential formulation excipient, some of which include binding, disintegrating and tablet coating properties. The polymer has also been investigated as a potential adjuvant for swellable controlled drug delivery systems. Use of chitosan in novel drug delivery as mucoadhesive, gene and peptide drug administration via the oral route as well as its absorption enhancing effects have been explored by a number of researchers. Chitosan exhibits myriad biological actions, namely hypocholesterolemic, antimicrobial and wound healing properties. Low toxicity coupled with wide applicability makes it a promising candidate not only for the purpose of drug delivery for a host of drug moieties (antiinflammatories, peptides etc.) but also as a biologically active agent. It is the endeavour of the present review to provide an insight into the biological and pharmaceutical profile of chitosan. Various investigations carried out recently are reported, although references to research performed on chitosan prior to the recent reviews have also been included, where appropriate.
壳聚糖是一种天然多糖，正被广泛用作药物辅料。它是通过甲壳素（第二丰富的天然聚合物）的部分脱乙酰化获得的。壳聚糖由一系列脱乙酰度、分子量、粘度、pKa等不同的聚合物组成。大量氨基的存在使壳聚糖能够与阴离子体系发生化学反应，从而改变此类组合的物理化学特性。壳聚糖作为一种潜在的制剂辅料，在传统制药设备中已得到广泛应用，其中一些应用包括粘合、崩解和片剂包衣特性。该聚合物也已被研究作为可膨胀控释给药系统的潜在佐剂。许多研究人员探索了壳聚糖在新型药物递送中的应用，如作为粘膜粘附剂、通过口服途径进行基因和肽类药物给药以及其吸收增强作用。壳聚糖具有多种生物学作用，即降胆固醇、抗菌和伤口愈合特性。低毒性加上广泛的适用性使其不仅成为多种药物部分（抗炎药、肽等）药物递送的有前途的候选者，而且还成为一种生物活性剂。本综述旨在深入了解壳聚糖的生物学和药学概况。本文报道了最近进行的各种研究，尽管在适当的情况下也包括了在最近综述之前对壳聚糖进行的研究的参考文献。
