The science of drug delivery is always affected by the choice of polymers which act as carriers. Synthetic polymers frequently suffer from the problem of being non-biocompatible, non-biodegradable and expensive. Natural polymers therefore are a promising solution to this problem. Chitosan is fiber-like substance derived from chitin, a homopolymer of �Ÿ-(1?4)-linked N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, infact second most abundant polysaccharides found in nature and it is one of material yet to be utilized to its full potential . Our objective is to appraise the state of the art concerning this polysaccharide and to take a closer look at chitin and chitosan applications. Chitosan, which is soluble in acidic aqueous media, is used in many applications (food, cosmetics, biomedical and pharmaceutical applications) because of their biocompatibility, biodegradability and non-toxicity, apart from their antimicrobial activity and low immunogenicity, which clearly points to an immense potential for future development. These candidate biopolymers can be easily processed into gels, sponges, membranes, beads and scaffolds forms. It has become of great interest not only as an underutilized resource, but also as a new functional material of high potential in various fields, and recent progress in chitin chemistry is quite noteworthy .From the studies reviewed it is concluded that chitosan are promising materials for pharmaceutical industry. It has shown promising properties for formulation of many novel and advanced medicines .The review article presented, explores into various aspects of existing and possible futuristic uses of chitosan in pharmaceutical and allied industries as it is the only multipurpose cationic polymer of natural origin on which worth extensive study and research has been done. Based on current research and existing products, some new and futuristic approaches in this fascinating area are thoroughly discussed.
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