Development and characterization of mucoadhesive chitosan films for ophthalmic delivery of cyclosporine A

Stability of chitosan-a challenge for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications

Chitosan-one of the natural multifunctional polymers-due to its unique and versatile biological properties is regarded as a useful compound in medical and pharmaceutical technology. Recently, considerable research effort has been made in order to develop safe and efficient chitosan products. However, the problem of poor stability of chitosan-based systems restricts its practical applicability; thus, it has become a great challenge to establish sufficient shelf-life for chitosan formulations. Improved stability can be assessed by controlling the environmental factors, manipulating processing conditions (e.g., temperature), introducing a proper stabilizing compound, developing chitosan blends with another polymer, or modifying the chitosan structure using chemical or ionic agents. This review covers the influence of internal, environmental, and processing factors on the long-term stability of chitosan products. The aim of this paper is also to highlight the latest developments which enable the physicochemical properties of chitosan-based applications to be preserved upon storage.

Physicochemical and nanomechanical investigation of electrodeposited chitosan:PEO blends

Cathodic electrodeposition is a bottom up process that is emerging as a simple yet efficient strategy to engineer thin polymeric films with well-defined physicochemical properties.