Biomolecules-derived biomaterials

Abstract

Human civilization has witnessed the use of materials-derived from biomolecules of plants and animal origin for biomedical applications since ancient era. In recent years, precision design principles have been adopted to develop novel biomaterials derived from biomolecules. The biomolecules-derived biomaterials fabrication is dependent on chemical, biochemical and mechanical parameters of biomolecules and their bulk materials. Thus, structural variations and weak noncovalent interactions present within the basic building blocks greatly influence the functional features and applications. This comprehensive review provides one-stop information on recent innovations of various biomaterial-types derived from a diverse class of biomolecules through selected and representative examples with potential biomedical applications ranging from diagnosis, biosensing, antimicrobial efficacy, anticancer therapeutics, drug delivery, bioprinting, bioimaging, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The discussion systematically follows the top-down approach in the order of molecular complexity viz., biomacromolecules, oligomers and monomers of all classes of biomolecules (proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and lipids) including a special section on biohybrid materials derived from molecular systems integrated with more than one class of biomolecules. In addition to providing overview of impressive advancements in the area, synergistic integration of biomolecules with synthetic materials to develop smart biomaterials is emphasized to improve the chemical, mechanical, stimuli-responsiveness, immunogenicity and biocompatibility features.

Keywords: Biocompatibility; Biomaterials; Biomolecules; Diagnosis and therapy; Hybrid materials; Synthetic materials.