The functionalization of chitosans is an emerging research area in the design of solutions for a wide range of biomedical applications. In particular, the modification of chitosans to incorporate sulfate groups has generated great interest since they show structural similarity to heparin and heparan sulfates. Most of the biomedical applications of heparan sulfates are derived from their ability to bind different growth factors and other proteins, as through these interactions they can modulate the cellular response. This review aims to summarize the most recent advances in the synthesis, and structural and physicochemical characterization of heparanized chitosan, a remarkably interesting family of polysaccharides that have demonstrated the ability to mimic heparan sulfates as ligands for different proteins, thereby exerting their biological activity by mimicking the function of these glycosaminoglycans.

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乙酰壳聚糖：迈向第三代几丁质生物材料

壳聚糖的功能化是为广泛的生物医学应用设计解决方案的新兴研究领域。特别是，壳聚糖的改性以结合硫酸基团引起了极大的兴趣，因为它们显示出与肝素和硫酸乙酰肝素的结构相似性。硫酸乙酰肝素的大多数生物医学应用源于它们结合不同生长因子和其他蛋白质的能力，因为通过这些相互作用，它们可以调节细胞反应。本综述旨在总结乙酰肝素化壳聚糖的合成、结构和物理化学表征的最新进展，这是一个非常有趣的多糖家族，已证明能够模拟硫酸乙酰肝素作为不同蛋白质的配体，