Table 1.

Summary of biomedical applications of functional chitosan and its derivative-related nano-biodevices.

Biomedical Applications	Examples of Nano-Biodevices	Available Multi-Properties for Design	Refs.
Anti-tumor	DOX-encapsulated polymeric nanoparticle surface-decorated with chitosan	(1)Chemical modifiability for access to a wide range of features (2)Cationic nature for endosomal escape (3)Water solubility and crosslinking ability, favoring the form of injectable hydrogel (4)Biodegradability for in vivo safety (5)Special targeting ability	[87]
	DOX-loaded and aptamer-mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) bioconjugates coated with chitosan (Dox-Chi-MSNs)		[88]
	In situ injectable nanocomposite hydrogel		[89]
	Glycol chitosan nanoparticles		[91]
Antimicrobial	Injectable quaternary ammonium chitosan (QCS)/tannic acid (TA) hydrogel	(1)Natural broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity (2)Biodegradability for in vivo safety (3)Structural modifiability for extended functionality (4)Adhesive property (5)Film-forming property (6)Water solubility and crosslinking ability, favoring the form of hydrogel	[93]
	Chitosan (CS)/citric acid (CA)/silver (Ag) cryogel		[95]
	CS-ZnO (zinc oxide particles)/Ce6 (chlorin) sponge		[97]
	Chitosan-based dual-functional platform for ocular topical delivery of econazole		[103]
Mucosal drug delivery	Mannose-anchored quaternized chitosan/thiolated carboxymethyl chitosan composite nanoparticles (M-N-2-HACC/BSA/N-CMCS NPs)	(1)Structural modifiability for extended functionality (2)Water solubility and crosslinking ability, favoring the form of hydrogel (3)Adhesive property (4)Film-forming property (5)Biocompatibility	[105]
	Bilirubin (BR)-attached low-molecular-weight, water-soluble chitosan nanoparticles (LMWC-BRNPs)		[106]
	Mussel-inspired, chitosan-catechol adhesive patches (Chitoral)		[107]
	In situ gelling starch nanoparticle (SNP)/O-carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCh) nanoparticle network hydrogel		[110]
Oral delivery	Polylysine and poly(lactide) co-modified thiolated chitosan/paclitaxel (PY-CS-PLA/PTX)	(1)Biocompatibility (2)Structural modifiability for extended functionality (3)Water solubility and accessible amphiphilicity for drug delivery	[112]
	Chitosan and insulin-loaded, zein-carboxymethylated short-chain amylose nanocomposites (IN-Z-CSA/CS)		[115]
Transdermal drug delivery	Transdermal glipizide delivery system based on chitosan-coated deformable liposomes (GLP-CS-DL1)	(1)Biocompatibility (2)Structural modifiability for extended functionality	[118]