Natural Biopolymeric Composites for Biomedical Research

This book presents a comprehensive exploration of the potential applications of natural biopolymeric composites in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and drug delivery. By bridging the gap between fundamental research and clinical applications, it presents cutting-edge insights into the diverse biomedical applications of biopolymer-based composites.

Natural biopolymeric composites are an important class of materials in biomedical sciences, offering biodegradability, biocompatibility, and tunable physicochemical properties. These composites combine natural biopolymers, synthetic polymers, and organic/inorganic materials, resulting in synergistic materials with enhanced functionalities. They are promising alternatives to synthetic polymers for healthcare and pharmaceutical applications.

This book is structured into two sections. Part One explores state-of-the-art advancements in the processing and development of natural biopolymeric composites, including alginate, chitin, chitosan, guar gum, cellulose, collagen, and starch, with an emphasis on their applications in tissue engineering. Part Two delves into the applications of natural biopolymeric composites in drug delivery, focusing on their role in controlled and targeted drug release systems. Throughout the chapters, there are discussions on various strategies for biopolymer composite fabrication, aiming to establish a library of compatible materials for composite preparation.

With contributions from leading researchers worldwide, this book provides in-depth discussions on the latest advancements, emerging trends, and future perspectives in the field. It serves as an invaluable resource for biomaterial scientists, tissue engineers, pharmaceutical researchers, and clinicians seeking innovative solutions for regenerative medicine and therapeutic delivery systems. Additionally, this book will be highly beneficial for undergraduate and postgraduate students specializing in biopolymers, biomaterials, and biomedical engineering.

Prof. Jayakumar Rangasamy is specializing in the area of Polymeric Biomaterials. Dr. R. Jayakumar joined in Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi, India during November-2007. He received his Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from the Anna University, Chennai, India (2002). He has over 350 Journal publications and 13 patents to his credit. His publications have been cited more than 31000 times with h-index-100. In addition, he has also edited and published 12 books. Dr. Jayakumar's research laboratory at ASNSMM is mainly interested in the development of biopolymeric nanofibers, nanogels, nanoparticles, nanocomposite scaffolds and injectable hydrogels for drug delivery, hemostasis, infectious diseases, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and wound healing applications. He was awarded the University Postdoctoral Fellowship from Chonbuk National University (2002-2003), South Korea and FCT Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Government of Portugal (2003-2005). In addition, he was also awarded the prestigious JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship (2005-2007) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan. He has received the “Best Paper Award” from Journal of Materials Science Materials in Medicine (Springer) and IET Nanobiotechnology Journal. He received “Best Faculty Researcher Award-2016” from Indian Chitin and Chitosan Society and “MRSI Medal-2017” from Materials Research Society of India. He also received “India Research Excellence-Citation Awards-2017 (Health & Medical Science area)” from Clarivate Analytics, Web of Science. Recently, he was selected as a “World top 2% scientists from India” in “Polymers” field by Stanford University, USA in the year of 2020, 2021, 2022. 2023, 2024 & 2025. He also be listed in the “Top 10 Material Science Researchers from India” by “Research.com”. He recently received “Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award-2021, 2023 & 2025” from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (University), India. He is also reviewer and editorial board member of many international journals.

Dr. Reshmi C R is currently working as an Assistant Professor at the Amrita School of Nanoscience and Molecular Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, Kerala, India. She completed her PhD in Chemistry at National Institute of Technology, Calicut by 2018. After that she joint in Amrita as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and followed by Research Scientist from 2018-2023. She is also a Wellcome Trust Early Career Fellow with extensive expertise in polymer-based nanomaterials, electrospinning, drug delivery systems, antibacterial wound dressings, and tissue engineering scaffolds. She has published more than 24 publications in and has an H-index of 14. Dr. Reshmi has significantly contributed to the field of nanoscience and biomaterials, focusing on vascular grafts, antibacterial surface engineering, and nanofibrous membranes for filtration and hygiene applications. She has led multiple research projects, including a COVID-19 initiative on nanofiber-coated face masks and designing of antibacterial catheters and holds a patent on nanofibrous membrane fabrication. Her research blends fundamental science with translational applications, advancing biomedical and environmental technologies.