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Alveolar bone loss and bone defects are the commonly encountered periodontal problems. Large defects do not heal spontaneously and thus require surgical interventions with bone substitutes. Bone grafts have the disadvantages of eliciting an immunologic response with subsequent graft rejection. The success rate of Guided Tissue Regeneration (GTR) is variable because of high susceptibility to infection. Thus emerged the important role of synthetic biomaterials and hence for this purpose we developed a nanocomposite scaffold, using alpha- and beta-chitin hydrogel with bioactive glass ceramic nanoparticles (nBGC) and silver nanoparticles (nAg) by lyophilization technique (aalpha and beta-chitin hydrogel/nBGC/nAg nanocomposite scaffold). The prepared nanoparticles and nanocomposite scaffolds were characterized. In addition, the porosity, swelling, mechanical properties, antibacterial activity, in vitro degradation and biomineralization, cell viability, cell attachment and cell proliferation ability of the prepared composite scaffolds were also evaluated. The results showed that alpha- and beta-chitin/nBGC/nAg composite scaffolds were porous and have the capacity to absorb fluids and swell. The composite scaffolds also showed enhanced antibacterial activity, bioactivity and controlled degradation in comparison to the control scaffolds. Cell viability studies proved the non-toxic nature of the nanocomposite scaffolds. Cell attachment and cell proliferation studies revealed the attachment and spreading nature of cells. All these studies revealed that, these antibacterial nanocomposite scaffolds could be a promising approach for the management of periodontal defects.

In this work, we have developed a nanocomposite scaffold using a mixture of pectin, chitin and nano CaCO3 using the technique of lyophilization, with an intended use towards biomedical applications such as tissue engineering and drug delivery. The prepared composite scaffold was characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In addition, swelling, degradation and biomineralization capability of the composite scaffold was evaluated. The developed composite scaffold showed controlled swelling and degradation in comparison with the control scaffold. Cytocompatibility evaluation of the scaffold was tested on NIH3T3, L929 and human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells, showed negligible toxicity towards cells. Cell attachment and proliferation studies were also conducted using these cells, which showed that cells attached onto the scaffolds and started to proliferate after 48 h of incubation. Further, drug delivery through the scaffold was examined using a bisphosphonate called Fosamax. These results suggest that the developed composite scaffold possess the essential requisites for their application in the fields of tissue engineering and drug delivery., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We developed chitin hydrogel/nano ZnO composite bandages using chitin hydrogel and ZnO nanoparticles (nZnO). The homogenized mixture of chitin hydrogel and nZnO was freeze-dried to obtain micro-porous composite bandages. The prepared nanocomposite bandages were characterized using FT-IR, XRD and SEM. In addition, blood clotting, antibacterial, swelling, cytocompatibility and cell attachment capability of the prepared nanocomposite bandages were evaluated. The nanocomposite bandages showed enhanced swelling, blood clotting and antibacterial activity. The incorporation of nZnO helped to attain antibacterial activity. Cytocompatibility studies were carried out using human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells proved the non-toxic nature of the composite bandages. HDF cell attachment and infiltration analysis showed that the cells were attached and penetrated into the interior (250 microm) of the nanocomposite bandages. These studies revealed that, this nanocomposite can be used for burn, diabetic and chronic wound defects.

The urge to repair and regenerate natural tissues can now be satisfactorily fulfilled by various tissue engineering approaches. Chitin and chitosan are the most widely accepted biodegradable and biocompatible materials subsequent to cellulose. The incorporation of nano ZrO(2) onto the chitin-chitosan scaffold is thought to enhance osteogenesis. Hence a nanocomposite scaffold was fabricated by lyophilization technique using chitin-chitosan with nano ZrO(2). The prepared nanocomposite scaffolds were characterized using SEM, FTIR, XRD and TGA. In addition, the swelling, degradation, biomineralization, cell viability and cell attachment of the composite scaffolds were also evaluated. The results demonstrated better swelling and controlled degradation in comparison to the control scaffold. Cell viability studies proved the non toxic nature of the nanocomposite scaffolds. Cells were found to be attached to the pore walls and spread uniformly throughout the scaffolds. All these results suggested that the developed nanocomposite scaffolds possess the prerequisites for tissue engineering scaffolds and could be used for various tissue engineering applications., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

α-chitin hydrogel/nano hydroxyapatite (nHAp) composite scaffold have been synthesized by freeze-drying approach with nHAp and α-chitin hydrogel. The prepared nHAp and nanocomposite scaffolds were characterized using DLS, SEM, FT-IR, XRD and TGA studies. The porosity, swelling, degradation, protein adsorption and biomineralization (calcification) of the prepared nanocomposite scaffolds were evaluated. Cell viability, attachment and proliferation were investigated using MG 63, Vero, NIH 3T3 and nHDF cells to confirm that the nanocomposite scaffolds were cytocompatible and cells were found to attach and spread on the scaffolds. All the results suggested that these scaffolds can be used for bone and wound tissue engineering., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Wound dressing is one of the most promising medical applications for chitin and chitosan. The adhesive nature of chitin and chitosan, together with their antifungal and bactericidal character, and their permeability to oxygen, is a very important property associated with the treatment of wounds and burns. Different derivatives of chitin and chitosan have been prepared for this purpose in the form of hydrogels, fibers, membranes, scaffolds and sponges. The purpose of this review is to take a closer look on the wound dressing applications of biomaterials based on chitin, chitosan and their derivatives in various forms in detail., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Antibiotic resistance of microorganisms is one of the major problems faced in the field of wound care and management resulting in complications like infection and delayed wound healing. Currently a lot of research is focused on developing newer antimicrobials to treat wounds infected with antibiotic resistant microorganisms. Silver has been used as an antimicrobial agent for a long time in the form of metallic silver and silver sulfadiazine ointments. Recently silver nanoparticles have come up as a potent antimicrobial agent and are finding diverse medical applications ranging from silver based dressings to silver coated medical devices. Chitin is a natural biopolymer with properties like biocompatibility and biodegradability. It is widely used as a scaffold for tissue engineering applications. In this work, we developed and characterized novel chitin/nanosilver composite scaffolds for wound healing applications. The antibacterial, blood clotting and cytotoxicity of the prepared composite scaffolds were also studied. These chitin/nanosilver composite scaffolds were found to be bactericidal against S. aureus and E. coli and good blood clotting ability. These results suggested that these chitin/nanosilver composite scaffolds could be used for wound healing applications.

Chitin is a novel biopolymer and has excellent biological properties such as biodegradation in the human body and biocompatible, bioabsorable, antibacterial and wound healing activities. In this work, alpha- and beta-chitin membranes were prepared using alpha- and beta-chitin hydrogel. The bioactivity studies were carried out using these chitin membranes with the simulated body fluid solution (SBF) for 7, 14 and 21 days. After 7, 14 and 21 days the membranes were characterized using SEM, EDS and FT-IR. The SEM, EDS and FT-IR studies confirmed the formation of calcium phosphate layer on the surface of the both chitin membranes. These results indicate that the prepared chitin membranes were bioactive. Cell adhesion studies were also carried out using MG-63 osteoblast-like cells. The cells were adhered and spread over the membrane after 24h of incubation. These results indicated that the chitin membranes could be used for tissue-engineering applications.

Biopolymers like chitin are widely investigated as scaffolds in bone tissue engineering. Its properties like biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, wound healing ability, antibacterial activity, hemostatic property, etc., are widely known. However, these materials are not much bioactive. Addition of material like silica can improve the bioactivity and biocompatibility of chitin. In this work, chitin composite scaffolds containing nanosilica were prepared using chitin hydrogel and their bioactivity, swelling ability and cytotoxicity was analyzed in vitro. These scaffolds were found to be bioactive in simulated body fluid (SBF) and biocompatible when tested with MG 63 cell line. These results suggest that chitin/nanosilica composite scaffolds can be useful for bone tissue engineering applications.