Cationic Chitosan

Overview

Cationic chitosan refers to chitosan formulations or derivatives that retain or enhance the polymer’s positively charged character. chitosan is a biobased polysaccharide widely used in biomedical and pharmaceutical research because of its mucoadhesive behavior, film-forming ability, gelation properties, and compatibility with a broad range of natural and synthetic polymers. Its cationic nature is especially important in interactions with negatively charged biological surfaces and polyanionic materials such as hyaluronic acid, pectin, alginate, carrageenan, fucoidan, and other ionic polysaccharides.

In recent biomedical studies, cationic chitosan has been used less as a conventional drug target and more as a functional material platform. It has served as a backing layer in buccal films, a component of nanofiber membranes, a thermosensitive hydrogel matrix, a stabilizer in Pickering emulsions, and a building block in multilayer films and composite hydrogels. These applications exploit its swelling, mucoadhesive, and electrostatic properties to support local drug delivery, tissue repair, controlled release, and formulation stability.

Focus of Latest Publications

Recent publications have used cationic chitosan as a versatile scaffold in drug delivery, tissue engineering, food packaging, and environmental materials.

In one intranasal nanocomposite system for multiple sclerosis, chitosan was combined with hyaluronic acid-conjugated gold nanoparticles to carry 4-aminopyridine. The reported carrier, HA@G-C-4AP, was designed for myelin repair, indicating that chitosan contributed to the formulation architecture and likely to mucoadhesion and nasal residence time. A related nanoparticle system also incorporated 5-aminofluorescein, showing that chitosan-based nanocomposites can be adapted for multifunctional delivery and tracking.

In oral mucositis research, chitosan was used as a backing layer in bilayer buccal films for local pain management. The study specifically exploited the mucoadhesive and swelling properties of chitosan, while the inner drug-loaded layer used hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC). This design reflects a common pharmaceutical role for cationic chitosan: maintaining contact with mucosal tissue and supporting sustained local release.

chitosan was also incorporated into a polylactic acid/tacrolimus nanofiber composite membrane for tracheal scar inhibition and wound healing in a mouse tracheal trauma model. In that work, chitosan nanoparticles were integrated into the membrane to synergize with PLA and tacrolimus, aiming to reduce scarring and promote repair. This places chitosan in a regenerative medicine context, where its polymeric structure supports scaffold formation and local bioactivity.

In cancer drug delivery, an injectable thermosensitive chitosan hydrogel was used to embed Folate-grafted poly-3-hydroxybutyrate nanoparticles carrying epirubicin. The resulting CSNG nanocomposite hydrogel was developed for sustained and targeted delivery, illustrating how chitosan can function as a depot matrix for controlled release and tumor-directed therapy. Related research also mentioned MCF-7 breast cancer cells, indicating that chitosan-based systems are being evaluated in oncology-oriented in vitro settings.

chitosan was further modified with 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde to create a multifunctional hydrogel with improved overall properties. Another hydrogel study used tris(hydroxymethyl)methylglycine-modified chitosan together with oxidized carrageenan and sea cucumber protein peptides, showing that cationic chitosan can be chemically tailored and crosslinked into composite biomedical materials. In these systems, chitosan’s positive charge likely supports polyelectrolyte interactions with anionic partners such as carrageenan.

Several studies focused on chitosan in combination with other polysaccharides and natural extracts. A jhingan gum/chitosan/aloe vera composite hydrogel was developed for dye removal from textile effluents, demonstrating pH-responsive swelling and environmental utility. Tea processing wastewater was incorporated into chitosan films for active food packaging, highlighting chitosan’s role in sustainable materials. chitosan was also used with hydroxypropyl guar gum and fucoidan to stabilize Pickering emulsions for surimi gel quality, and with pectin in multilayer films for controlled anthocyanin release. In these systems, cationic chitosan contributes electrostatic stabilization, interfacial activity, and multilayer assembly with anionic biopolymers.

Food-related studies also examined chitosan in gel and emulsion systems. Hydrophobically modified chitosan gel networks were incorporated into soy protein isolate formulations, and chitosan was studied alongside anionic κ-carrageenan and neutral konjac glucomannan in surimi gelation. These studies emphasize the polymer’s ability to modulate texture, water retention, and network formation through ionic and structural interactions.

Overall, the recent literature portrays cationic chitosan as a multifunctional biomaterial rather than a single molecular target. Its principal value lies in its positive charge, which enables binding to negatively charged polymers, biological membranes, and drug carriers, thereby supporting mucoadhesion, gelation, controlled release, and composite material formation.

Key Publications

• Jun Hyaluronic acid conjugated gold nanoparticles/chitosan/4-aminopyridine intranasal nanocomposites for myelin repair in multiple sclerosis. (Journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 2026, PMID 41974374): "a carrier based on hyaluronic acid (HA) conjugated to chitosan (C) with gold nanoparticles (G) for 4AP has been prepared (HA@G-C-4AP)."
• Jun Early-stage pharmaceutical development of bilayer buccal films with a chitosan backing layer for local pain management in oral mucositis. (European journal of pharmaceutical sciences : official journal of the European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2026, PMID 41997306): "In this work, the mucoadhesive and swelling properties of chitosan were exploited as a backing layer in bilayer films whose inner drug-loaded layer comprised hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC)."
• Jun Chitosan nanoparticles-incorporated polylactic acid/tacrolimus nanofiber composite membrane for tracheal scar inhibition and tracheal wound healing promotion. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2026, PMID 42107578): "We hypothesized that a composite membrane integrating chitosan (CS), polylactic acid (PLA), and tacrolimus (TAC) via simultaneous electrospinning and electrospraying would inhibit tracheal scarring and promote tracheal wound healing by synergizing their respective advantages."
• Jun Development of folate-grafted poly-3-hydroxybutyrate nanoparticles-embedded chitosan thermosensitive hydrogel for sustained and targeted delivery of epirubicin. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2026, PMID 42055375): "These nanoparticles were subsequently incorporated into an injectable thermosensitive chitosan (CS) hydrogel to obtain the CSNG nanocomposite hydrogel."
• Jun Valorization of jhingan gum into a sustainable jhingan gum/chitosan/aloevera composite hydrogel for removal of NOVACRON® RUBY S3B dye from aqueous textile effluents. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2026, PMID 42086133): "The hydrogel was prepared using jhingan gum, chitosan, and aloe vera extract (3:1:1) with glutaraldehyde as a crosslinking agent, and characterized by FTIR, DSC, SEM, XRD, pHPZC, and swelling studies, which showed maximum pH-responsive swelling at pH 7."
• Jun Valorization of tea processing wastewater into multifunctional chitosan-based films for active food packaging. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2026, PMID 42086131): "In this study, a green strategy was developed by incorporating tea processing wastewater (TPW) into chitosan (CS) films, thereby enabling the valorization of agro-industrial by-products."
• Jun Enzyme- and ion-induced high internal phase emulsion gels based on soy protein isolate, chitosan, and alginate as fat analogues: Tunable texture and controlled flavor release. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2026, PMID 42086137): "hydrophobically modified chitosan gel network (h-CSG) was incorporated into a soy protein isolate (SPI) solution"
• Jun Modified chitosan/oxidized carrageenan composite hydrogels incorporated with sea cucumber protein peptides as a potential novel biomedical material. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2026, PMID 42092655): "Using chitosan (CS) and κ-carrageenan (Car) as raw materials, tris(hydroxymethyl)methylglycine-modified chitosan (CS-TMG) and oxidized carrageenan (O-Car) were respectively synthesized."
• Jun Chitosan/hydroxypropyl guar gum/fucoidan composite-stabilized Pickering emulsions for enhanced surimi gel quality. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2026, PMID 42092657): "In this study, emulsifiers were prepared using chitosan (CS), hydroxypropyl guar gum (HGG), and fucoidan (FU) at various ratios, and their properties were characterized using various indicators."
• Jun Pectin-chitosan multilayer films for controlled anthocyanin release: Experimental structure-property relationships supported by complementary principal component analysis (PCA). (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2026, PMID 42097421): "Dual controlled-release multilayers were produced by incorporating zein-anthocyanin coacervate complexes into spray-assisted LbL architectures composed of alginate, pectin, zein, and chitosan."