Anticancer Activity of Biomaterial Chitosan, Nanochitosan, and Their Derivatives

What is it about?

This article describes the remarkable anticancer activity of chitosan bio materials, that are synthesized from chitin from the exoskeleton or shells of crustaceans (crabs, prawn), cuticle of insects, cell wall of fungi etc. . The general mechanism of their anticancer activity is associated with the disturbances in normal functioning of cell cycle, interference to the central dogma of biological system from DNA to RNA to protein or enzymatic synthesis and the disruption of hormonal path to biosynthesis to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Both chitosan and its various derivatives have been reported to selectively permeate through the cancer cell membranes and show anticancer activity through the cellular antioxidant defense mechanism and apoptotic pathways. They provide their enhanced bio availability in cancer cells in a sustained release manner. This review presents the putative mechanisms of anticancer activity of chitosan, nano chitosan and their derivatives, their clinical trials and perspectives as anticancer formulation.

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Why is it important?

Study in vitro and in vivo has shown that many cancer cells are resistant to the chemotherapeutic drugs like cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), docetaxel, procarbazine, methotrexate etc. in practice. These chemical compounds of current therapeutic use are associated with acute and chronic, life threatening toxicity of gastrointestinal lining, bone marrow, reticuloendothelial system and gonads. Chitosan and its derivatives, specially the chitosan-drug nano composites as the leading anticancer formulations, due to their selective antitumor effects, nontoxicity, biocompatibility and biodegradability can be the promising natural alternatives to overcome these problems. Cancer is a major cause of deaths across the globe and for several decades, intensive research has been focused on more potent anticancer drug development strategies. Despite this, the clinical intervention options of chitosan are still limited for many types of human cancers. Therapeutic use of chitosan-based compounds with the minimal toxicity on non-cancer cells is critically important.

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