**23. Haemostasis and wound healing**

20 The Complex World of Polysaccharides

powder

**21. Artificial skin** 

reconstructing in wounds [146].

placenta blended with MCCh.

shown to possess these criteria.

**22. Scaffold for the regeneration of tissue** 

**Figure 7.** These are some ways you can shape the chitosan: films, gels, microspheres, tubes, sponges,

The preparation of artificial skin by natural materials such as gelatin, pectin, starch, cellulose, alginate, chitin, collagen, polyamino acids, and dextran has been established to enhance the healing process. The structures of these natural materials are analogs of protein and growth factor structures in the human body that may be more relevant for stimulating the appropriate hysiological responses required for cellular regeneration and tissue

Dressing materials based on chitin, chitosan and derivatives are well-known on the market, and are produced mainly in Japan and the US. JEX KK Co produces composite dressings made of synthetic resins, chitosan and materials of collagen and acetylchitiosan. Eisai Co is manufacture of chitin dressings in sponge form (Chitopack C®) or a PET non-woven modified with chitin (Chitopack C®). The Japanese Unitika Co offers a dressing non-woven of chitosan fibres. The American 3M proposes a chitosan gel preparation (Tegasorb®) and a hydrocolloid (Tegaderm®) designed for the healing of extensive internal wounds.ChorioChit sponge is a biological dressing obtained by lyophilisation of human

Chitin and its derivatives have been used as scaffolds for bone and other natural tissue regeneration [147] as well as structures by which three-dimensional formation of tissues are supported [148]. While looking for a good material for a good scaffold, there are at least four important factors that should be taken into account: (1) ability to form temporary matrix, (2) ability to form porous structure for tissue to grow, (3) biodegradability, and finally (4) nontoxic byproducts from the digestion [149,150]. Thus, neither the physical nor biological properties of such biomaterials should be ignored [147]. Chitin and its derivatives have been Hemostasis through blood coagulation is an important step for wound healing. The main cellular components in blood coagulation are platelets. It has been shown that chitosan has a hemostatic effect [151]. Okamoto et al 2003, reported that chitin is an effective agent for hemostasis maintenance through aggregating platelets, and suggested that the effect of chitin and chitosan is due to both physical and chemical properties of these biopolymers, especially their amino groups [152].

Haemostatic dressings containing chitin and chitosan as bioactive agents are also well known, notably the Syvek patch, RDH (Marine Polymer Technologies), Clo-Sur PAD (Medtronic-Scion), Chito-Seal (Abbot), the M-Patch and Trauma DEX (Medafor).
