ABSTRACT
Chitosan, an amino-polysaccharide obtained by alkaline deacetylation of chitin, is a natural and abundant polymer that is considered as an attractive candidate of biomaterial (Miyazaki et al., 1981; Madihally and Matthew, 1999). In dentistry, chitin-chitosan is applied as a dressing for oral mucous wound and a tampon following radical treatment of maxillary sinusitis. It is investigated as a root canal medicament (Ikeda et al., 2000) and an absorbing membrane for endodontic treatment and periodontal surgery, respectively. Furthermore, its application for oral care and hygiene has been proposed, in particular, to elderly people (Hayashi et al., 2007a). Bioactive natural organic materials originated from marine products now attract researchers’ attention toward basic and clinical research for the development of alternative biomaterial, as amphixenosis such as BSE, avian, and swine influenzas occurs all over the world.
