...........................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... iii List of Tables .................................................................................................................. vii List of F...

Polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) are attractive materials for drug delivery application as they offer simple preparations and high drug-loading efficiency. In this study, a novel method preparing polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles using s

n-sodium acrylate-o-carboxymethyl chitosan [cmch-g-paa(na)] bound fe3o4 nanoparticles were developed as a novel magnetic nanoparticles with an ionic structure that can be potentially used in many fields. cmch-g-paa (na) was obtained by grafting of sodium polyacrylate on o-carboxymethyl chitosan, which is an amphiphilic polyelectrolyte with the biocompatibility and biodegradability properties. a...

The purpose of this study was to develop and characterize a chitosan gel/gelatin microsphere (MSs) dual delivery system for sequential release of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) to enhance osteoblast differentiation in vitro. We made and characterized the delivery system based on its degree of cross-linking, degradation, and release kinetics. We als...

Three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds hold great potential for stem cell-based therapies. Indeed, recent results have shown that biomimetic scaffolds may enhance cell survival and promote an increase in the concentration of therapeutic cells at the injury site. The aim of this work was to engineer an original polymeric scaffold based on the respective beneficial effects of alginate and chitosan. For...

Granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor, a potent hematopoietic cytokine, has been shown to stimulate production of white blood cells following chemotherapy. Therefore, the granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor gene is a potential candidate for the treatment of different pathological conditions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the suitability of chitosan as carri...

Polyion complexes of three chitosans with poly(vinyl sulfate) (PVS) and dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS) were examined by a potentiometric study that was to separately measure the pH of sample solutions individually prepared. Apparent formation constants (Ki) of ion association between the protonated amines of chitosan and the sulfates of PVS or the sulfonates of DBS were determined. The effects ...

Chitosan is a unique biopolymer in the respect that it is abundant, cationic, low-toxic, non-immunogenic and biodegradable. The relative occurrence of the two monomeric building units (N-acetyl-glucosamine and D-glucosamine) is crucial to whether chitosan is predominantly an ampholyte or predominantly a polyelectrolyte at acidic pH-values. The chemical composition is not only crucial to its sur...