Chitosan Fiber in Textile Engineering: Advanced Dressing from a Natural Source

Abstract

Chitosan is a naturally-occurring starch (polymer) derived from the shells of crustaceans. Chitosan consists of primarily of 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucopyranose unit linked by β-(1-4) linkage, and small amount of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues. Chitosan has been found with important and wide properties in agriculture, antimicrobial field, cosmetics, food, medicine, and textile engineering. Many researches showed chitosan had antimicrobial activities on bacteria, postharvest pathogens, plant phytopathogenic fungi, yeast and virus. Here, the authors mentioned beneficial effects of chitosan-based materials in advanced wound dressings.