Properties and Medical Applications of Electrospun Chitosan Nanofibers: A Review

Chitosan is a natural abundant polymer which has attracted huge interests in biomedical, biological, pharmaceutical and wastewater treatment industries due to its biocompatible, biodegradable and nontoxicity properties. Considering that chitosan can be electrospun, many research works are focused in this area. Polymeric nanofibers, as one of the most known nanotechnology products, have huge potential applications in many fields due to their high aspect ratio and porosity, capable of forming three-dimensional structures and having great mechanical and biological properties. However there are some problems during electrospinning of chitosan which can be solved by using soluble chitosan derivatives, special solvents) mixture of organic acids (and blend it with other polymers. Considering the above matters, this review surveys the various approaches for investigation of chitosan properties and its successful electrospinning efficiency. Further applications of chitosan nanofibers are extended and discussed in relation to biomedical fields like tissue engineering scaffolds and wound dressing.