Synthesis, characterization and in vitro cytocompatibility studies of chitin nanogels for biomedical applications

In this work we developed biodegradable chitin nanogels (CNGs) of size 65 nm by controlled regeneration method and characterized. The CNGs showed higher swelling and degradation in acidic pH. The in vitro cytocompatibility was analyzed on an array of cell lines and cell uptake studies were done by conjugating CNGs with the rhodamine-123 dye (rhodamine-123–CNGs), which showed retention of nanogels inside the cells. Our preliminary studies reveal that these nanogels could be useful for the delivery of drugs, growth factors for drug delivery and tissue engineering.