Advances on Natural-Based Polymers for Biomedical Applications
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 401
Special Issue Editors
2. CICS-UBI – Centro de Investigação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade da Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilhã, Portugal
Interests: natural polymers; polysaccharides, natural extracts; drug delivery systems; electrospun membranes; hydrogels; 3D printed scaffolds, tissue regeneration
2. Health Sciences Research Centre (CICS-UBI), Beira Interior University, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6201-506 Covilhã, Portugal
Interests: microalgae; bioactive compounds as health promotors; bioactivity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. CICS-UBI – Centro de Investigação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade da Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilhã, Portugal
Interests: natural compounds; proteins; drug delivery systems; hydrogels; wound dressings; skin regeneration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Natural polymers have been widely explored for biomedical applications due to its high availability and biological properties. This type of polymers present morphological and functional similarities to the extracellular matrix of tissues. In particular, they possess peptide sequences at its surfaces, which can be recognized by cell surface receptors and, subsequently trigger cell adhesion and proliferation. Furthermore, the natural polymers are also known by their chemical versatility that allow its modification by using well stablished chemical/physical functionalization approaches. In this way, the natural-based polymers have been receiving special attention in the development of different systems for biomedical applications.
This Special Issue focuses on the design, production, characterization, functionalization, properties and performance of naturally derived polymers for biomedical applications such as implantable biomaterials, controlled release carriers, wound dressings, or scaffolds for tissue engineering.
Keywords
- polymers
- natural resources
- biocompatibility
- biodegradability
- controlled release carriers
- biomaterials
- scaffolds
- tissue engineering
- biomedicine
- medicine regenerative
