Synthesis and characterization of chitosan nanofibers for wound healing and drug delivery application

Chitosan has emerged as a biodegradable, absorbable, non-toxic, biocompatible biopolymer for wound healing and drug delivery applications. Chitosan can be converted to nanofibers which have higher potential for wound healing and drug delivery applications as compared to chitosan nanoparticles and nanocomposites. Due to these properties chitosan nanofiber has emerged as a promising candidate for biomedical research. In the recent decades it has been observed that several studies reported about the production and medical applications of chitosan nanofibers. Although, preparation and application of chitosan nanofibers is easy. But there are several challenges and bottlenecks associated with its practical application and large-scale production. The presented review is a comprehensive discussion on the major challenges and bottlenecks associated with chitosan nanofibers synthesis and their practical applications in biomedical research. It discusses critically about the issues related to the chitosan nanofibers solubility, stability, mechanical strength, absorption and drug release properties, and its scale up hinderances. Moreover, the review presents an insight into the future recommendations on considering the parameters associated for development of an efficient, sustainable, and promising biopolymer.