The review presents a comprehensive examination of chitosan, emphasizing its biocompatibility, absorbability, polycationic properties, film-forming ability, hemostatic properties, antimicrobial effects, tissue regeneration capabilities, and angiogenic potential.

The usefulness of chitosan encompasses a wide range of areas, including wound dressings, tissue scaffolds, medication delivery systems, and medical devices. The ethical considerations and challenges pertaining to patient safety, informed consent, equitable provision of healthcare, and sustainable sourcing are duly acknowledged and attended to.

Chitosan demonstrates diverse medicinal capabilities, particularly in the context of wound healing. Additionally, it has the potential to yield advantages in the context of combinational medicines. Nevertheless, ethical issues take precedence.

It is of utmost importance to ensure that the applications of chitosan are in accordance with ethical norms, encompassing aspects such as safety, consent, equitable access, and sustainability.

This review sheds light on the scientific potential and ethical challenges associated with the use of chitosan in medical applications, hence providing guidance for the development of responsible healthcare advancements. The article investigates the potential of chitosan, a versatile substance obtained from fungus and crustaceans, in the field of medicine, with a specific focus on its application in wound healing.

The distinctive attributes of chitosan, such as its biocompatibility, absorbency, and antibacterial properties, render it well-suited for various applications, including wound dressings and drug delivery systems. The essay additionally addresses significant ethical aspects, including patient safety, informed consent, and sustainable sourcing.

It underscores the importance of striking a balance between innovation and the adoption of responsible and ethical medical practices. This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

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Future Microbiology. Thanks to chitosan's film-forming nature, it creates a thin film over the skin, covering its surface without cracking. This provides an extra protective layer that locks in moisture while keeping out bacteria and microbes.

As chitosan is antibacterial, antifungal and analgesic, it inhibits further bacterial and fungal growth by promoting structural changes in the membrane-wall complex, causing impaired surface cell structure and bacterial death.

Aside for protecting wounds, chitosan films are permeable to air. They facilitate cellular regeneration, dramatically speeding up wound healing. Chitosan's ability to film-form also contributes to effectively treating eczema and acne, protecting the skin from future breakouts.

It reduces infection and has antipruritic anti-itch and anti-inflammatory properties, preventing scarring and delivering a soothing effect. Chitosan's ability to deliver drugs and other therapeutic compounds has been well documented and this also applies to wound healing. Chitosan facilitates the transport of nutrients and oxygen and, as it has no antigenic properties, it has excellent biocompatibility.

Chitosan-based devices can combine drug delivery with wound healing, making them exceptionally efficient. Chitosan-based hydrogels can be used for drug delivery in wound dressings, while films and fibers can be developed for tissue engineering, wound care, and water-resistant adhesives.

Antimicrobial action, film-forming ability and wound-healing properties make chitosan suitable for the development of a wound dressings, including ocular bandage lenses for traumatic injuries.

As ocular wounds and eye injuries are exceptionally sensitive, chitosan's biocompatibility, non-allergenic and non-toxic nature proves exceptionally useful.