Biopolymers for medical application

Biopolymers including alginate, chitosan, cellulose, cellulose acetate, silk, etc. that are used for the production of the biocomposite materials for applications in wound management will be presented. Optimized amount of active agents and model drugs, like eosin, PVPI, albumin, curcumin, essential oils of lavender, cinnamon, mint and others, can be incorporated into the biopolymer matrices. It will be presented the realization of smart fibrous mats, films from emulsions, and nanoparticles for wound dressings combining the abovementioned polymers derived from natural sources with the active agents. Electrospun fibers are excellent candidate for wound dressings and scaffolds, due to their characteristics of efficient absorption of wound exudates, gas permeability, protection against bacterial infections and oxidation, easy incorporation of bioactive molecules and drugs, good conformability, and promoted cell attachment and proliferation. Films from emulsions can combine hydrophobic biomatrices with hydrophilic drugs and vice versa, or can combine hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs in one system. Finally, biocomposite nanoparticles or nanocapsules can be ideal candidates for reaching specific tissues or cells in the human body, which otherwise with conventional methods is very difficult. The controlled delivery in time of the active agents of these system will also be discussed