Chitosan-Based Hydrogels for Drug Delivery

The advances in the field of biomaterials have led to several studies on alternative biocompatible devices and to their development focusing on their properties, benefits, limitations, and utilization of alternative resources. Due to their advantages like biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low costs, polysaccharides have been widely used in the development of hydrogels. Among the polysaccharides, which are studied on hydrogel preparations, chitosan (pure or combined with natural/synthetic polymers) have been widely investigated for use in biomedical field, especially due to its biocompatibility and non-toxicity. Thus, the chitosan-based hydrogels play a crucial role in the development of new biomaterials. Many crosslinking (or polymerization) approaches have been developed to convert chitosan into smart hydrogels, with the aim of obtaining new drug delivery devices. Such hydrogels can also undergo changes in their physical-chemical properties in response to environmental changes such as pH, ionic strength, temperature, magnetic field, and so forth. In view of potential applications of chitosan-based hydrogels, this chapter focuses on the most recent progress made with respect to preparation, properties, and their salient accomplishments in drug delivery.