New Bioactive Biomaterials Based on Chitosan

Summary Chitosan is a natural polymer, which has become a quite noteworthy material because of its high chemical versatility and functional properties for developing derived compounds with improved or new properties. Among the chemical or enzymatic modifications made to the chitosan molecule are the chitooligosaccharides as well as the grafting of functional groups such as saccharides, oligosaccharides, alkyl groups, cyclodextrins, organic acid, lactide, polylactide, and polyphenol, providing chitosan derivatives with improved solubility and enhanced antimicrobial activity, chelating ability, moisturizing qualities, and healing properties, among others. These new functionalized chitosans have shown high potential for application in medicine, water treatment, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry, agriculture, and food. This chapter addresses the scope of current functional chitosan derivatives and explains the relationship between chitosan structure and its modifications and the specific properties in the final product as well as its potential applications, particularly in the agricultural and food sectors.