scaffold

Chitosan bioglass networks can be used as biomaterials in medicine, for example, as bone implants. Their physiochemical and mechanical properties can be improved by crosslinkers and various stabilization methods. In the presented study, six of them were compared with each other.

In August, 320 articles about chitosan and chitosan derivatives were published in various scientific journals (PubMed). Seven of these articles are dedicated to the exciting topic of electrospun chitosan nanofibers. For generation of nanofibrous structures in tissue engineering, electrospinning is a simple and inexpensive technology. Electrospun nanofiber non-woven mats are highly porous and offer a large surface area. The biocompatible, biodegradable and bacteriostatic chitosan is perfectly suitable for creation of nanofibers and application as scaffold material.

This month we deal with chitosan for skin tissue engineering. In 2016, 129 articles about “chitosan” and “tissue engineering” were published. Most publications were written by researchers from China (42 articles), India (14) and the United States (14).

In April 2016, 268 publications about chitosan were released. In addition to China (52) and the United States (25), Brazil (15) is on the third place of nations with the most publications. The following studies deal with chitosan as drug delivery system to support regeneration of dermal tissue or articular cartilage.

In March 2016, 289 publications about chitosan and chitosan derivative have been released. Most articles investigated chitosan nanoparticels and polymers, as well as chitosan in pharmaceutical preparations. Majority of chitosan research takes place in China (55 articles), USA (36) and India (21). Development of new scaffold materials for in vitro tissue engineering is an important topic for regenerative medicine. Biomaterial scaffolds need to be biocompatible and cell growth supportive.

The development of the chitosan research and chitosan application is steadily proceeding. More than 2100 reports about chitosan and chitosan derivatives were published in 2015. The highest number of publications was performed by the leading nations China (589), India (250), the United States (214) and the European area as a whole.

The year 2013 was an outstanding year for chitosan research, as a new record of publications has been achieved. Throughout the year, 1845 articles about chitosan and chitosan derivatives have been published, which mainly focused on animal and human studies, nanoparticles, pharmaceutical preparations and evaluation studies. The leading scientists in the field of chitosan were Rui L. Reis (University of Minho, Portugal), Shantikumar V. Nair (Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University, India) and Andreas Bernkop-Schnürch (University of Innsbruck, Austria).

In September and October, 276 chitosan-related articles have been released. The main topics addressed chitosan in evaluation studies, pharmaceutical preparations, nanoparticles and tissue engineering. The highest number of publications was performed by the leading nations China (73 articles), USA (28) and India (22). German scientists published 8 articles, placing them in the top-ten list.

At the beginning of year 2013 numerous articles about chitosan and chitosan derivatives were published.  All in all 286 publications were released in January and February by leading scientists from China (86 articles), USA (25) and India (25).  The main research field addresses chitosan in animal and human studies, nanoparticles and pharmaceutical preparations.

After dropping in the previous months, the publication number of chitosan articles slightly increased in July. Overall 76 articles were published in this field. In July 2010 83 articles were published, in comparison to this year it is only a small difference.

Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA designed a promising novel three-dimensional scaffold for stem cells. Main ingredients are chitosan and alginate.

Dr. Thomas Freier

Tissue engineering is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field of research focused on the development of vital autologous tissue through the use of a combination of biomaterials, cells, and bioactive molecules, for the purposes of repairing damaged or diseased tissue and organs. The future tissue engineering market potential has been estimated at 70 billion Euro. Due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability, together with its specific interactions with components of the extracellular matrix and growth factors, chitosan has emerged as exceptionally promising material for various tissue engineering applications, including skin, nerve, bone, and cartilage repair applications.