Currently, there is an increasing trend on design and development of new wound healing/sealing materials. The focus is to use biobased materials such as
chitin and its derivatives to synthesise wound healing/sealing materials with the ability to enhance the healing process at the molecular and cellular level.
Chitin is an inexpensive and abundant polymer of linear 1,4 N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues which is largely found in the exoskeleton of crustaceans
shells as well as the cell walls of fungi and yeast. We aimed to transform and utilise the chitooligosaccharides from the green photocatalysis process of chitin
for the development of wound healing hydrogel for biomedical applications. In this project we adopt catechol chemistry as a versatile and biocompatible
green method for the surface functionalization. With this regard, partially cross-linked catechol functionalized chitin will exhibit an immediate sol-gel
transition, resulting in sealing of the injured tissue and prevention of bleeding.