Chitin, a polysaccharide that occurs abundantly in nature after cellulose, has attracted the interest of the scientific community due to its plenty of availability and low cost. Mostly, it is derived from the exoskeleton of insects and marine crustaceans. Often, it is insoluble in common solvents that limit its applications but its deacetylated product, named chitosan is found to be soluble in protonated aqueous medium and used widely in various biomedical fields. Indeed, the existence of the primary amino group on the backbone of chitosan provides it an important feature to modify it chemically into other derivatives easily. In the present review, we present the structural properties of chitin, and its derivatives and highlighted their biomedical implications including, tissue engineering, drug delivery, diagnosis, molecular imaging, antimicrobial activity, and wound healing. We further discussed the limitations and prospects of this versatile natural polysaccharide.

Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi 110025 India

Department of Biochemistry College of Medicine Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University Al Kharj Saudi Arabia

Department of Chemistry Zakir Husain Delhi College New Delhi 110002 India

Division of Plant Pathology ICAR Indian Agricultural Research Institute New Delhi 110 012 India

Interdisciplinary Nanotechnology Centre Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh 202002 India

Regional Center for Advanced Technologies and Materials Faculty of Science Palacky University Slechtitelu 27 78371 Olomouc Czech Republic

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