Increasing rates of antimicrobial resistance have left a significant gap in the standard antimicrobial armament. Nanotechnology holds promise as a new approach to combating resistant microbes. Chitosan, a form of deacetylated chitin, has been used extensively in medicine, agriculture and industry due to its ease of production, biocompatibility and antimicrobial activity. Chitosan has been studied extensively as a main structural component and additive for nanomaterials. Specifically, numerous studies have demonstrated its potent microbicidal activity and its efficacy as an adjuvant to vaccines, including mucosally administered vaccines. In this review, we present fundamental information about chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles as well as the most recent data about their antimicrobial mechanism and efficacy as a nanotechnology-based drug delivery system.
Keywords: antibacterial; antifungal; antimicrobial; antimicrobial resistance; chitosan; chitosan nanoparticles; vaccine adjuvant.