Chitosan is a natural, tough, cationic, biodegradable, and biocompatible polymer obtained from chitin by deacetylation. Chitin is a polysaccharide obtained from exoskeletons of crustaceans and sea insects such as crab, krill, shrimp and crawfish etc. Besides the formerly mentioned resources it is also obtained from some fungi and bacterial cell walls. In recent times chitosan has been far and wide used as a popular formulation excipient due to its inimitable characteristics in the field of pharmaceutical sciences as binding, disintegrating, stabilizing, suspending, tablet coating, and film forming material. Chitosan has been comprehensively investigated for its suitability for its controlled release characteristics in various studies. Oral
delivery of genes and peptides by means of different formulations based on chitosan was also investigated in various examinations by the capability
of its absorption and penetration enhancing properties. It is possessing tremendous mucoadhesive and inherent anti-microbial properties, so that it
can be used as a carrier for novel drug delivery. In addition to the above mentioned reasons, tailoring the controlled release and to improve the
therapeutic efficacy of the low molecular weight drug compounds can also be achieved by this polymer and moreover in combination with various
polymers is feasible due its compatibility i.e. low chemical reactivity. This brief editorial epitomizes the potential applications of chitosan in novel
drug delivery systems