Biomedical applications of chitosan electrospun nanofibers as a green polymer – Review.

Highlights • The remarkable biomedical applications of chitosan are discussed. • The electrospinning process for chitosan and a chitosan blend are reported. • The application of films and membranes of chitosan for wound dressings is described. • In vivo, in vitro studies and drug delivery applications of chitosan are reviewed. Abstract This review outlines new developments in the biomedical applications of environmentally friendly ('green') chitosan and chitosan-blend electrospun nanofibers. In recent years, research in functionalized nanofibers has contributed to the development of new drug delivery systems and improved scaffolds for regenerative medicine, which is currently one of the most rapidly growing fields in all of the life sciences. Chitosan is a biopolymer with non-toxic, antibacterial, biodegradable and biocompatible properties. Due to these properties, they are widely applied for biomedical applications such as drug delivery, tissue engineering scaffolds, wound dressings, and antibacterial coatings. Electrospinning is a novel technique for chitosan nanofiber fabrication. These nanofibers can be used in unique applications in biomedical fields due to their high surface area and porosity. The present work reviews recent reports on the biomedical applications of chitosan-based nanofibers in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]