Research on hydrogels, as a remarkable class of soft nanomaterials, is developing rapidly through the innovation and improvement of polymers, chemical synthesis, methods of preparation, formulations, and fabrication processes. This trend is justified by the several advantages that chitosan-based hydrogels offer for biofabrication and biomedical applications.

Hydrogels are synthetic matrices made up of a network of hydrophilic polymers that absorb water and/or biofluids. The current strategy to design and produce hydrogels involves a range of various polymers, among them chitosan. The non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable characteristics of chitosan allow its use as a hydrogel in many successful applications. The design and fabrication of chitosan-based hydrogels is based on the association with glycerophosphate salt. The mixture remains liquid at room temperature, and it gels quickly when heated to body temperature. Chitosan solutions heated in the presence of glycerophosphate salt will become partly neutralized by transferring protons to glycerol phosphate and thereby reduce the repulsive forces among positively charged ammonium groups, allowing attractive interchain forces to form a physically crosslinked gel under the appropriate conditions.

This study, presents the patent analysis regarding chitosan-based hydrogels by introducing what has been innovated and patented in relation to chitosan-based hydrogels. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the patentability of hydrogel applications is provided by determining publication year, jurisdictions, patent families, inventors, applicants, owners, and patent classifications.