Biomedical exploitation of chitin and chitosan-based matrices via ionic liquid processing

Chitin and chitosan are well-known biopolymers, and they have been considered a sustainable feedstock for biomedical applications. However, the highly ordered structure and strong hydrogen bonding network of those polymers can be a limiting factor for their application, in particular for chitin, which is insoluble in conventional solvents. Therefore certain ionic liquids can dissolve and process both chitin and chitosan efficiently. In this chapter, a series of chitin and chitosan-based matrices such as gels, films, and sponges produced via IL platform were discussed envisaging their biomedical potential.