Biomedical Applications of Chitosan with Emphasis on Dermal/ Transdermal Drug Delivery

Dermal and transdermal delivery of drugs are difficult due to the barrier properties of the stratum corneum. Polymeric carriers such as chitosan can be used to increase drug permeability. Chitosan is a nontoxic natural cationic biopolymer and has been widely used in biomedical field including healing burns and wounds owning to its biological properties such as biocompatibility، biodegradability، mucoadhesivity، antibacterial and hemostatic activities. This polymer can be used to produce dermal/transdermal preparations in different types of drug delivery systems including hydrogel، film and nanoparticle. The aim of this review article is introduce chitosan as a carrier for dermal and transdermal drug delivery.