T increased using the addition of cornstarch and dextran, respectively. Within a review, Jayakumar et

T increased using the addition of cornstarch and dextran, respectively. Within a review, Jayakumar et al. discussed the chemical modification of chitin and chitosan with sulfate to produce new bifunctional materials [91]. As the modification wouldn’t adjust the fundamental skeleton of chitin and chitosan, it would maintain the original physicochemical and biochemical properties, and ultimately would bring new or improved properties. The sulfated chitin and chitosan have a number of applications, including adsorbing metal ions, in drug-delivery systems, blood compatibility and in the antibacterial field. Similar studies on the characterization of physical and biological properties of chitosan preparations were also reported by Altiok et al. [17], Kim et al. [63], Sung et al. [66], Keong et al. [92], Lu et al. [93] and Meng et al. [94].NIH-PA Author Nemo Like Kinase Proteins Recombinant Proteins Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNewest developments regarding chitosanIn current years, new types of chemically modified chitosan happen to be created so as to improve the properties of chitosan for numerous biological activities, and these substances have gained increasing attention. Representative members of those novel polymers involve ammonium chitosans, carboxymethyl chitosan and derivatives. Ammonium chitosan A single aspect that limits the application of native chitosan is its non-solubility in neutral and alkaline aqueous solutions. As a result, chitosan derivatives containing quaternary ammonium salts, including N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan, N-propyl-N,N-dimethyl chitosan and Nfurfuryl-N,N-dimethyl chitosan have been investigated for improved solubility in water and subsequently improved biological activities. Studies have shown that all quaternary ammonium chitosan derivatives have been extremely water-soluble at acidic, simple and neutral pH [9500]. Compared with native chitosan, ammonium chitosan demonstrated enhanced antimicrobial properties [95,98,99] and drug-delivery skills [96]. Carboxymethyl chitosan Carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) is an additional modification of chitosan formed by attaching carboxymethyl groups towards the chitosan backbone. According to the location on the carboxymethyl group attachment, CMC may be known as `N’ when the carboxymehthyl group attaches to the amine, `O’ when it attaches towards the primary hydroxyl group or N,O,carboxymethyl chitosan when attached to both [101]. CMC has the advantage of a greaterExpert Rev Anti Infect Ther. Author manuscript; obtainable in PMC 2012 May 1.Dai et al.Pagesolubility variety than native chitosan. CMC has now been extensively studied for its activities for drug delivery [102,103], hemostasis [104], antimicrobial action [10507] and also the stimulation of wound healing [41].NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptExpert commentaryThe principal targets of wound care and management are prevention of infection, Complement Factor B Proteins medchemexpress upkeep of a moist atmosphere, protection of the wound and achievement of fast and total healing with all the minimum scar formation. Chitosan, as a cationic organic polymer, has been widely used as a topical dressing in wound management owing to its hemostatic, stimulation of healing, antimicrobial, nontoxic, biocompatible and biodegradable properties. Within this overview, we covered the antimicrobial and wound-healing effects of chitosan preparations for wounds and burns. With respect to the antimicrobial effects, in-vitro studies have shown that chitosan at the same time as its derivatives and complexes are act.