title: Chitosan: properties, preparations and application to microparticulate systems.
abstract: Chitosan, a hydrophilic biopolymer, is obtained industrially by hydrolysing the aminoacetyl groups of chitin. It is a natural, non-toxic, biodegradable polysaccharide available as solution, flake, fine powder, bead and fibre. The sources, biochemical aspects, structure and chemical modification, physico-chemical and functional properties, and applications of chitosan have been investigated extensively in the literature. In this paper, the attractive properties and broad applications of chitosan-based microparticles, their versatile properties, different preparation methods, and pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical applications are reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, Pharmacy Faculty, Pharmaceutical Technology Department, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kaş
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002214:Capsules; D002686:Chitin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D048271:Chitosan; D004339:Drug Compounding / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008863:Microspheres
chemical_list: D002214:Capsules; D002686:Chitin; D048271:Chitosan