"Click" chemistry as a tool to create novel biomaterials: a short review

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing demand for novel strategies for biomedical applications. Chitosan is a typical cationic amino-containing polysaccharide that has been widely used due to its unique properties. The grafting modification of chitosan has been explored as an interesting method to develop multifunctional novel chitosan hybrid materials for drug delivery, tissue engineering, and other biomedical applications. Recently, “click” chemistry has been introduced into the synthesis of polymeric materials with well-defined and complex chain architectures. The Huisgen’s 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between alkynes and azides yielding triazoles is the principal example of a “click” reaction. Bioconjugation, surface modification, and orthogonal functionalization of polymers were successfully performed through this chemoselective reaction. In recent literature interest has been shown in this cycloaddition for the modification of polysaccharides, however, only a few chitosan graft copolymers have been synthesized by this technique.