Chitosan-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Targeted Chemotherapy in Colorectal Cancer: A Scoping Review.

ABSTRACT: Chitosan (CS) has emerged as a versatile biopolymer for designing drug delivery systems (DDS) in colorectal cancer (CRC) therapy due to its biocompatibility, mucoadhesive properties, and ability to be surface-functionalized. This scoping review systematically analyzed current experimental studies on CS-based DDS for CRC, comparing non-targeted formulations with ligand-modified systems to identify advances in targeting efficiency, drug release behavior, and biological outcomes. Among the twenty-five initially identified studies, divided into two categories, non-targeted CS-based DDSs and ligand-modified CS-DDSs, five fulfilled the inclusion criteria for ligand-functionalized systems. These incorporated targeting moieties, such as folic acid (FA), hyaluronic acid (HA), and galactose (Gal), t

SUBMITTER: Piotrowska U 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12734999 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature