Chitosan-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Optimization of Photodynamic Therapy: a Review.

Chitosan-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Optimization of Photodynamic Therapy: a Review. AAPS PharmSciTech. 2019 Jul 15;20(7):253 Authors: Calixto GMF, de Annunzio SR, Victorelli FD, Frade ML, Ferreira PS, Chorilli M, Fontana CR Abstract Drug delivery systems (DDS) can be designed to enrich the pharmacological and therapeutic properties of several drugs. Many of the initial obstacles that impeded the clinical applications of conventional DDS have been overcome with nanotechnology-based DDS, especially those formed by chitosan (CS). CS is a linear polysaccharide obtained by the deacetylation of chitin, which has potential properties such as biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, biodegradability, non-toxicity, high bioavailability, simplicity of modification, aqueous solubility, and excellent chemical resistance. Furthermore, CS can prepare several DDS as films, gels, nanoparticles, and microparticles to improve delivery of drugs, such as photosensitizers (PS). Thus, CS-based DDS are broadly investigated for photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer and fungal and bacterial diseases. In PDT, a PS is activated by light of a specific wavelength, which provokes selective damage to the target tissue and its surrounding vasculature, but most PS have low water solubility and cutaneous photosensitivity impairing the clinical use of PDT. Based on this, the application of nanotechnology using chitosan-based DDS in PDT may offer great possibilities in th...
Source: AAPS PharmSciTech - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: AAPS PharmSciTech Source Type: research