Chitosan-based nanocomposites: promising materials for drug delivery applications

Abstract

Natural polymers, like chitosan (CS), and mineral clays are very interesting materials, recently very used in the area of the bionanotechnology. These compounds are obtained from renewable sources and have extremely friendly properties, since they are biocompatible, biodegradable, and little toxic, which make them very useful materials for many applications. These CS-based bionanocomposites are widely used in the pharmaceutical field as drug delivery systems, along with many other medical applications. In this chapter, we present a screenshot of the processes of obtaining characterization and biopharmaceutical properties, as well as their mucoadhesive characteristics, and the requirements that this type of material must meet to be used as drug-controlled release systems.