Natural origin biopolymers are attractive for use in biomedical applications, partly due to their biocompatibility and degradation characteristics.
Natural-based polymers for biomedical applications comprehensively reviews this important subject in six in-depth sections. Part one discusses the sources, properties, modification and processing of natural-based polymers, whilst in the second section surface aspects are reviewed. Parts three and four concern natural-origin materials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, discussing scaffolds, hydrogels and injectable systems. The sustained release of molecules is reviewed in the fifth part of the book, followed by the biocompatibility of natural-based polymers in the final section.
Key Features: examines the sources, processing and properties of natural based polymers for biomedical applications; explains how the surfaces of polymer based biomaterials can be modified to improve their functionality; discusses the use of natural based polymers for hydrogels in tissue engineering, and inparticular natural gelling polymers for encapsulation and regenerative medicine; summarises the use of natural based polymers as delivery systems for drugs, hormones, enzymes and growth factors.
Part 1 Sources, properties, modification and processing of natural-based polymers: Polysaccharides as carriers of bioactive agents for medical applications; Purification of naturally-occurring biomaterials; Processing of starch-based blends for biomedical applications; Controlling the degradation of natural polymers for biomedical applications; Smart biomedical systems based on polysaccharides. Part 2 Surface modification and biomimetic coatings: Surface modification of natural-based biomedical polymers; New biomineralization strategies for the use of natural-based polymeric materials in bone-tissue engineering; Natural-based multilayer films for biomedical applications; Peptide modification of polysaccharide scaffolds in tissue engineering. Part 3 Biodegradable scaffolds and hydrogels for tissue regeneration: Scaffolds based on hyaluronan derivatives in biomedical applications; Electro-spun elastin and collagen nano-fibers and their application as biomaterials; Starch-polycaprolactone based scaffold for bone tissue engineering; Chitosan-based scaffolds in orthopaedic applications; Elastin-like systems for tissue engineering; Collagen-based scaffolds for tissue engineering; Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and its potential for biomedical applications; Electrospinning of natural proteins for tissue engineering. Part 4 Naturally-derived hydrogels in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: Naturally-derived gel-forming materials: fundamentals, applications and challenges in tissue engineering; Alginate hydrogels as matrices for tissue engineering; Fibrin matrices in tissue engineering; Natural-based polymers for encapsulation of living cells: fundamentals, applications and challenges; Hydrogels for neuronal regeneration. Part 5 Systems for the sustained release of molecules: Particles for controlled drug delivery; Thiolated chitosans in non-invasive drug delivery; Chitosan-polysaccharide blended nanoparticles for controlled drug delivery. Part 6 Biocompatibility of natural-based polymers: In vivo tissue response to natural-origin biomaterials; Immunological issues in tissue engineering; Biocompatibility of hyaluronic acid: from cell recognition to therapeutic applications; Biocompatibility of starch-based polymers; Vascularisation strategies in tissue engineering.
Professor Rui L. Reis (Editor-in-Chief of the book), Dr Nuno M. Neves, Dr João F. Mano, Dr Manuela E. Gomes, Dr Alexandra P. Marques and Dr Helena S. Azevedo (Section Editors) all work in the Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics Research Group in the Department of Polymer Engineering at the University of Minho, Portugal.
