A comprehensive review on natural macromolecular biopolymers for biomedical applications: Recent advancements, current challenges, and future outlooks

Versatile material properties coupled with high degree of biocompatibility and biodegradability has made biopolymers as potential candidates for diverse applications in the biomedical field. Natural biopolymers derived from various plant, animal and microbial sources with different biochemical compositions are extensively used in biomaterial industry with or without further medication to their native form. Biopolymeric biomaterials have been employed in a wide range of biomedical applications like tissue engineering, drug delivery, bone regeneration, wound dressings and cardiovascular surgery. Carbohydrate based biopolymers and protein based biopolymers are extensively used for several applications in the biomedical field including cartilage regeneration, periodontal tissue regeneration, bone regeneration, corneal regeneration, drug delivery and wound healing. This review work presents a comprehensive outlook on the applications of various biopolymers in biomedical field. The work elaborates the biochemistry of these polymers with special focus on their crucial properties in the biomedical industry. Further a detailed description on the most recent application of various biopolymers in the biomedical filed is presented in this review. This work further summarizes the current challenges and future prospects in the use of biopolymers in biomedical field.