Applications of chitosan–graphene oxide nanocomposites in medical science: a review

Combinations of biopolymers with nanostructured carbon materials have been the subject of interest of many scientists in recent years. Particularly significant are nanocomposites made of chitosan, which is a linear aminopolysaccharide obtained in the process of deacetylation of chitin, and graphene oxide (GO). These systems, due to the atypical properties of both components such as non-toxicity, biocompatibility with human tissues and organs as well as bacteriostaticity, are characterised by a wide range of biomedical applications. They may be used in emergency medicine as dressing materials which accelerate wound healing, as well as carriers of drugs/genes and biological macromolecules, for example proteins, peptides and nucleic acids. In addition, CS-GO systems can potentially be used in regenerative medicine as scaffolds for cell culture. For this reason, the current publication presents the possibilities of the application of chitosan–graphene oxide nanocomposites in medicine considering the characteristics of the system components.