Journal
BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES
Volume 31, Issue 8, Pages 1776-1785Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2013.09.007
Keywords
Chitin; Stem cell; Tissue engineering; Scaffolds
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Funding
- Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (Biomedical Research Council, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore)
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Chitin, after cellulose, is the second most abundant natural polymer. With a 200-year history of scientific research, chitin is beginning to see fruitful application in the fields of stein cell and tissue engineering. To date, however, research in chitin as a biomaterial appears to lag far behind that of its close relative, chitosan, due to the perceived difficulty in processing chitin. This review presents methods to improve the processability of chitin, and goes on further to discuss the unique physicochemical and biological characteristics of chitin that favor it as a biomaterial for regenerative medicine applications. Examples of the latter are presented, with special attention on the qualities of chitin that make it inherently suitable as scaffolds and matrices for tissue engineering, stem cell propagation and differentiation. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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