BIOCHEMICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF EXOGENOUS CHITINS AND CHITOSANS IN ANIMALS AND PATIENTS

In comparison to other polysaccharides currently used in wound dressing materials, modified chitosans possess outstanding biochemical significance: they promote ordered tissue reconstruction, vascularization, equilibrated presence of cellular elements and little scar formation. An explanation is offered by their susceptibility to the hydrolytic action of lysozyme and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, which make available chito-oligomers capable of macrophage stimulation and favourable influence on collagen deposition. Oligomeric and monomeric species are also expected to be incorporated into extracellular matrix components which further assist in the rebuilding of physiologically valid tissues.