School of Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora East Campus, P.O. Box 71, Bundoora VIC 3083, Australia.
Institute of Material Chemistry and Research, Polymer and Composite Engineering (PaCE) Group, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währinger Straße 42, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
Mar Drugs. 2020 Jan 18;18(1):64. doi: 10.3390/md18010064.
Chitin and its derivative chitosan are popular constituents in wound-treatment technologies due to their nanoscale fibrous morphology and attractive biomedical properties that accelerate healing and reduce scarring. These abundant natural polymers found in arthropod exoskeletons and fungal cell walls affect almost every phase of the healing process, acting as hemostatic and antibacterial agents that also support cell proliferation and attachment. However, key differences exist in the structure, properties, processing, and associated polymers of fungal and arthropod chitin, affecting their respective application to wound treatment. High purity crustacean-derived chitin and chitosan have been widely investigated for wound-treatment applications, with research incorporating chemically modified chitosan derivatives and advanced nanocomposite dressings utilizing biocompatible additives, such as natural polysaccharides, mineral clays, and metal nanoparticles used to achieve excellent mechanical and biomedical properties. Conversely, fungi-derived chitin is covalently decorated with -glucan and has received less research interest despite its mass production potential, simple extraction process, variations in chitin and associated polymer content, and the established healing properties of fungal exopolysaccharides. This review investigates the proven biomedical properties of both fungal- and crustacean-derived chitin and chitosan, their healing mechanisms, and their potential to advance modern wound-treatment methods through further research and practical application.
几丁质及其衍生物壳聚糖因其纳米纤维形态和有吸引力的生物医学特性而成为伤口治疗技术中的常用成分，这些特性可以加速愈合并减少疤痕形成。这些在节肢动物外骨骼和真菌细胞壁中发现的丰富天然聚合物几乎影响愈合过程的每个阶段，作为止血和抗菌剂，还支持细胞增殖和附着。然而，真菌和节肢动物几丁质的结构、性质、加工和相关聚合物存在关键差异，这影响了它们各自在伤口治疗中的应用。高纯度甲壳类衍生的几丁质和壳聚糖已广泛应用于伤口治疗研究，研究中包含了化学修饰的壳聚糖衍生物和利用生物相容性添加剂的先进纳米复合材料敷料，例如天然多糖、矿物粘土和金属纳米粒子，以实现优异的机械和生物医学性能。相反，真菌衍生的几丁质与β-葡聚糖共价结合，尽管其具有大规模生产潜力、简单的提取过程、几丁质和相关聚合物含量的变化以及真菌胞外多糖的既定愈合特性，但受到的研究关注较少。本综述调查了真菌和甲壳类衍生的几丁质和壳聚糖的已证实的生物医学特性、它们的愈合机制，以及通过进一步的研究和实际应用，它们在推进现代伤口治疗方法方面的潜力。
