Diversity of Rationally Modified Polysaccharides for Pharmaceutical Applications

The pressing need for the development of diversified and non-toxic biomaterials in recent decades has led to the emergence of novel and valuable structural modifications in polysaccharides to broaden their spectrum of applications. Polysaccharides are macromolecules with multifaceted diverse structures and exhibit wide range of pharmacological and biological activities. Naturally occurring polysaccharides such as starch, chitosan, alginate, acetalated dextran and pectin could potentially negate major concerns associated with the selection of suitable polysaccharides without compromising their unique bioactive nature. Chemical modification of polysaccharides offers distinctive benefits such as improved biocompatibility, stability, solubility, and functionality making them more valuable for a variety of biomedical applications such as drug delivery, gene delivery, cell culture technology and tissue engineering. The present review is a compendium of relevant chemically modified polysaccharides and discusses their role in diverse fields of pharmacy and medicine.