Chitosan and its derivatives as polymeric anti-viral therapeutics and potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 nanomedicine.

The coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19 has a global impact on the lives and livelihoods of people. It is characterized by a widespread infection by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), where infected patients may develop serious medical complications or even face death. Development of therapeutic is essential to reduce the morbidity and mortality of infected patients. Chitosan is a versatile biomaterial in nanomedicine and exhibits anti-microbial, anti-cancer and immunomodulatory properties. This review highlights the progress in chitosan design and application pertaining to the anti-viral effects of chitosan and chitosan derivatives (hydroxypropyl trimethylammonium, sulfate, carboxymethyl, bromine, sialylglycopolymer, peptide and phosphonium conjugates) as a function of molecular weight, degree of deacetylation, type of substituents and their degree and site of substitution. The physicochemical attributes of these polymeric therapeutics are identified against the possibility of processing them into nanomedicine which can confer a higher level of anti-viral efficacy. The designs of chitosan for the purpose of targeting SARS-CoV-2, as well as the ever-evolving strains of viruses with a broad spectrum anti-viral activity to meet pandemic preparedness at the early stages of outbreak are discussed.

A review on chitosan and its development as pulmonary particulate anti-infective and anti-cancer drug carriers.

Chitosan, as a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer, is characterized by anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties. It lately has received a widespread interest for use as the pulmonary particulate backbone materials of drug carrier for the treatment of infectious disease and cancer. The success of chitosan as pulmonary particulate drug carrier is a critical interplay of their mucoadhesive, permeation enhancement and site/cell-specific attributes. In the case of nanocarriers, various microencapsulation and micro-nano blending systems have been devised to equip them with an appropriate aerodynamic character to enable efficient pulmonary aerosolization and inhalation. The late COVID-19 infection is met with acute respiratory distress syndrome and cancer. Chitosan and its derivatives are found useful in combating HCoV and cancer as a function of their molecular weight, substituent type and its degree of substitution. The interest in chitosan is expected to rise in the next decade from the perspectives of drug delivery in combination with its therapeutic performance.