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Chitin and chitosan are abundant marine-derived biopolymers with unique properties, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low cost. Furthermore, their functional groups easily enable versatile modifications for biomedical and tissue engineering applications. Processing strategies allow tuning of their characteristics, including their degree of deacetylation, molecular weight, viscosity, and mineral and protein content, making them highly adaptable compared to synthetic polymers. These sustainable materials have demonstrated significant potential in therapeutic biomaterials, including anti-infective coatings, tissue engineering scaffolds, drug delivery systems, gene therapy vectors, and implant applications. Through this reprint, we aim to showcase advances that expand the role of these natural polymers in next-generation healthcare solutions.

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