Smart Delivery with Chitosan Nanoparticles: Current Innovations and Future Pathways

Chitosan nanoparticles have proven to be a very promising platform in drug delivery systems, thanks to their superior properties, such as enhanced stability, low toxicity, biodegradability, and biocompatibility. The nanoparticles present an easy route of administration, and hence, they are a very attractive option for numerous therapeutic applications. These are widely studied biomaterials with several potential applications over the last few decades. These include the treatment of wastewater, the prevention of obesity, and diagnostic imaging. Moreover, chitosan nanoparticles can also be applied in nasally delivered drugs and polyphenol transport. However, the most significant application at this time is acting as an antiviral vector for COVID-19 therapy, where they have been claimed to deliver the therapeutic substance very efficiently. The major advantage of chitosan nanoparticles is the ease of surface modification, which can promote the covalent binding of targeting ligands for enhanced specificity and accuracy in drug delivery. As a result, they will be very effective in targeting certain cells or tissues, thus maximizing the therapeutic effect and, at the same time, reducing the side effects that are normally associated with the conventional drug delivery systems. This research aims to provide a detailed look at chitosan nanoparticles, their applications in medicine, and nanotechnology. It discusses the drug release mechanisms, production methods, and characterization techniques, and highlights the advancements in their applications at the same time. To sum up, chitosan nanoparticles represent a reliable and powerful drug delivery system with the unique chance to overcome the limitations of traditional formulations and thus lead to better patient outcomes. Researchers continue to discover new pharmaceutical applications of the chitosan nanoparticles that will contribute to their use in the future.