Mostafa Saeedi 1, Omid Vahidi 1, Mohammadreza Moghbeli 1, Sepideh Ahmadi 2, Mohsen Asadnia 3, Omid Akhavan 4, Farzad Seidi 5, Mohammad Rabiee 6, Mohammad Reza Saeb 7, Thomas J Webster 8, Rajender S Varma 9, Esmaeel Sharifi 10, Ali Zarrabi 11, Navid Rabiee 12 Affiliations collapseSaeedi, MostafaVahidi, OmidMoghbeli, MohammadrezaAhmadi, SepidehAsadnia, MohsenAkhavan, OmidSeidi, FarzadRabiee, MohammadSaeb, Mohammad RezaWebster, Thomas J.Zarrabi, AliRabiee, NavidVarma, Rajender S.Sharifi, Esmaeel2022-08-032022-08-032022Saeedi M, Vahidi O, Moghbeli M, Ahmadi S, Asadnia M, Akhavan O, Seidi F, Rabiee M, Saeb MR, Webster TJ, Varma RS, Sharifi E, Zarrabi A, Rabiee N. Customizing nano-chitosan for sustainable drug delivery. J Control Release. 2022 Jul 29:S0168-3659(22)00473-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2022.07.038. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35914615.0168-3659http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2022.07.038https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12713/3065Chitosan is a natural polymer with acceptable biocompatibility, biodegradability, and mechanical stability; hence, it has been widely appraised for drug and gene delivery applications. However, there has been no comprehensive assessment to tailor-make chitosan cross-linkers of various types and functionalities as well as complex chitosan-based semi- and full-interpenetrating networks for drug delivery systems (DDSs). Herein, the various fabrication methods developed for chitosan hydrogels are deliberated, including chitosan crosslinking with and without diverse cross-linkers. Tripolyphosphate, genipin and multi-functional aldehydes, carboxylic acids, and epoxides are common cross-linkers used in developing biomedical chitosan for DDSs. Methods deployed for modifying the properties and performance of chitosan hydrogels, via their composite production (semi- and full-interpenetrating networks), are also cogitated here. In addition, recent advances in the fabrication of advanced chitosan hydrogels for drug delivery applications such as oral drug delivery, transdermal drug delivery, and cancer therapy are discussed. Lastly, thoughts on what is needed for the chitosan field to continue to grow is also debated in this comprehensive review articleeninfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessChitosan PolymerComposite HydrogelsCross-LinkersDrug DeliveryHydrogelsReview Article35914615WOS:0008655873000022-s2.0-85136110063Q110.1016/j.jconrel.2022.07.038Q1