키토산-다당류 복합 하이드로젤의 특성과 적용에 대한 최근 연구동향

Since chitosan, a natural polymer, has low mechanical strength, chitosan-based hydrogel has been fabricated by combining chitosan with other biomaterials such as gelatin, alginate, chondroitin suflate, poly (ethylene glycol) and collagen among many other polymeric biomaterials. Their properties such as solubility, porosity, swelling ratio and biocompatibility have been improved by combining such biomaterials, forming a composite hydrogel. Chitosan-polysaccharide composite hydrogels have been extensively studied as biomaterials in various fields such as tissue engineering (bone, cartilage, vascular tissues, nerve tissues, etc.), 3D bioprinting, bioinks, drug delivery, injectable hydrogels, cell therapy and wound healing, etc. In this review, we discuss on current status of the characteristics of chitosan-polysaccharide composite hydrogels and their potential applications, focusing on its composite components such as dextran, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, starch, pectin and others.