Bacterial Nanocellulose toward Green Cosmetics: Recent Progresses and Challenges

In the skin care field, bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), a versatile polysaccharide produced by non-pathogenic acetic acid bacteria, has received increased attention as a promising candidate to replace synthetic polymers (e.g., nylon, polyethylene, polyacrylamides) commonly used in cosmetics. The applicability of BNC in cosmetics has been mainly investigated as a carrier of active ingredients or as a structuring agent of cosmetic formulations. However, with the sustainability issues that are underway in the highly innovative cosmetic industry and with the growth prospects for the market of bio-based products, a much more prominent role is envisioned for BNC in this field. Thus, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent (last 5 years) and relevant developments and challenges in the research of BNC applied to cosmetic, aiming at inspiring future research to go beyond in the applicability of this exceptional biotechnological material in such a promising area.     

Biopolymeric nanocomposites for potential biomedical applications

This review reports recent advances in the field of biopolymeric composites and nanocomposites for potential biomedical applications. These materials have attracted both academic and, for several composites, industrial attention because they exhibit properties required in the biomedical field. Herein, the structure, preparation and properties of biopolymeric composite blends are discussed in general, and detailed examples are also drawn from the scientific literature and practical work. In this review the most common natural polymers collagen, chitosan and their composites and nanocomposites with inorganic particles are discussed. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis, properties and biomedical applications of poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS): A review

Poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) is a biodegradable polymer increasingly used in a variety of biomedical applications. This polyester is prepared by polycondensation of glycerol and sebacic acid. PGS exhibits biocompatibility and biodegradability, both highly relevant properties in biomedical applications. PGS also involves cost effective production with the possibility of up scaling to industrial production. In addition, the mechanical properties and degradation kinetics of PGS can be tailored to match the requirements of intended applications by controlling curing time, curing temperature, reactants concentration and the degree of acrylation in acrylated PGS. Because of the flexible and elastomeric nature of PGS, its biomedical applications have mainly targeted soft tissue replacement and the engineering of soft tissues, such as cardiac muscle, blood, nerve, cartilage and retina. However, applications of PGS are being expanded to include drug delivery, tissue adhesive and hard tissue (i.e., bone) regeneration. The design and fabrication of PGS based devices for applications that mimic native physiological conditions are also being pursued. Novel designs range from accordion-like honeycomb structures for cardiac patches, gecko-like surfaces for tissue adhesives to PGS (nano) fibers for extra cellular matrix (ECM) like constructs; new design avenues are being investigated to meet the ever growing demand for replacement tissues and organs. In less than a decade PGS has become a material of great scrutiny and interest by the biomedical research community. In this review we consolidate the valuable existing knowledge in the fields of synthesis, properties and biomedical applications of PGS and PGS-related biomaterials and devices.     

Inorganic-organic hybrid nanomaterials for therapeutic and diagnostic imaging applications

Nanotechnology offers outstanding potential for future biomedical applications. In particular, due to their unique characteristics, hybrid nanomaterials have recently been investigated as promising platforms for imaging and therapeutic applications. This class of nanoparticles can not only retain valuable features of both inorganic and organic moieties, but also provides the ability to systematically modify the properties of the hybrid material through the combination of functional elements. Moreover, the conjugation of targeting moieties on the surface of these nanomaterials gives them specific targeted imaging and therapeutic properties. In this review, we summarize the recent reports in the synthesis of hybrid nanomaterials and their applications in biomedical areas. Their applications as imaging and therapeutic agents in vivo will be highlighted.     

Review of crosslinked and non‐crosslinked copolyesters for tissue engineering and drug delivery

Novel degradable biomedical materials are found to have huge potential applications in fields such as drug delivery and release, orthopedic fixation support and tissue engineering. Utilization of polymers as biomaterials has greatly impacted the advancement of modern medicine. In this review, some new degradable biomedical copolyesters reported in recent years are introduced and discussed in combination with some of our research results, including non‐crosslinked copolyesters, crosslinked copolyesters and their corresponding derivatives. The molecular design, chemical structures and related properties of these biodegradable copolyesters are reported. In summarizing the review, the development, potential applications and future directions of degradable biomedical copolyesters are discussed. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Emerging Perspectives in the Synthesis of Novel Degradable Biomedical Copolymers

Biodegradable polymer is playing an increasingly significant role in the development of biomedical materials due to its good biocompatibility and biodegradability, and is undoubtedly the focus in the biomedical fields, such as controlled drug delivery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. In this review, some new degradable biomedical copolymers reported over the past 5 years are introduced and discussed in combination with some our research results. The molecular design, chemical structures and related properties of these novel biodegradable copolymers are reported. In summarizing the review, the development, potential applications and future directions of the degradable biomedical copolymers are discussed.     

Biomedical applications and colloidal properties of amphiphilically modified chitosan hybrids

Chitosan is among the most abundant biopolymers on earth and has been either used or exhibited potential in a wide variety of industrial and biomedical applications. With the advancement of materials technologies, chitosan has been chemically modified to self-assemble into nanoarchitectures that are usable in advanced biomedical applications, such as drug nanocarriers, macroscopic injectables, tissue-engineering scaffolds, and nanoimaging agents. Colloidal amphiphilically modified chitosan (AMC) is a relatively recent material receiving increased attention with numerous publications addressing the medical advantages of specific systems. To date, many reviews have focused on the synthesis and biomedical properties of chitosan-based biomaterials, but a comprehensive study focusing on the colloidal properties of AMC in relation to biomedical performance appears to be lacking. This review provides a survey of the field, critically reviewing the colloidal properties and biomedical performance of AMC systems, such as nanoparticle drug delivery systems and macroscopic medical devices. Finally, the future development, market potential, and clinical implications of these promising colloidal-structured biomaterials are summarised.     

Biodegradable synthetic polymers: Preparation, functionalization and biomedical application

Biodegradable polymers have been widely used and have greatly promoted the development of biomedical fields because of their biocompatibility and biodegradability. The development of biotechnology and medical technology has set higher requirements for biomedical materials. Novel biodegradable polymers with specific properties are in great demand. Biodegradable polymers can be classified as natural or synthetic polymers according to the source. Synthetic biodegradable polymers have found more versatile and diverse biomedical applications owing to their tailorable designs or modifications. This review presents a comprehensive introduction to various types of synthetic biodegradable polymers with reactive groups and bioactive groups, and further describes their structure, preparation procedures and properties. The focus is on advances in the past decade in functionalization and responsive strategies of biodegradable polymers and their biomedical applications. The possible future developments of the materials are also discussed.     

Silicone-based biomaterials for biomedical applications: Antimicrobial strategies and 3D printing technologies

Silicone is a synthetic polymer widely used in the biomedical industry as implantable devices since 1940, owing to its excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Silicone biomaterials are renowned for their biocompatibility due to their inert nature and hydrophobic surface. A timeline illustration shows critical development periods of using silicone in varied biomedical applications. In this review, silicone properties are discussed along with several biomedical applications, including medical inserts, speciality contact lenses, drains and shunts, urinary catheters, reconstructive gel fillers, craniofacial prosthesis, nerve conduits, and metatarsophalangeal joint implants. Silicones are prone to microbial infections when exposed and interactions with the host tissue. As in the case of medical inserts, the development of specific antimicrobial strategies is essential. The review highlights silicone implants' interaction with soft and bone tissue and various antimicrobial strategies, including surface coating, physical or chemical modifications, treating with antibiotics or plasma-activated surfaces to develop the resistance to bacterial infection. Finally, 3D printing technology, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine applications, and future trends are also critically presented, indicating the silicone's potential as a biomaterial.     

Application of polymeric nanofibers in medical designs,part I: Skin and eye

Nanotechnology has wide applications in many fields, especially in the biological sciences and medicine. Nanomaterials are applied as potential materials for treatment and diagnosis. The development of nanofibers has greatly enhanced the scope for fabricating designs that can be potentially used in medical sciences. The application of polymeric nanofibers in biomaterials sciences and tissue engineering review in four sections: skin and eye, neural and cardiovascular tissues, musculoskeletal and urological tissues, drug and biological materials’ delivery. The present review summarizes the currently available applications of nanofibers in skin and eye tissues.     

Polymeric nanostructured materials for biomedical applications

Polymeric nanostructured materials (PNMs), which are polymeric materials in nanoscale or polymer composites containing nanomaterials, have become increasingly useful for biomedical applications. In specific, advances in polymer-related nanoscience and nanotechnology have brought a revolutionary change to produce new biomaterials with tailored properties and functionalities for targeted biomedical applications. These materials, including micelles, polymersomes, nanoparticles, nanocapsules, nanogels, nanofibers, dendrimers and nanocomposites, have been widely used in drug delivery, gene therapy, bioimage, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. This review presents a comprehensive overview on the various types of PNMs, their fabrication methods and biomedical applications, as well as the challenges in research and development of future PNMs.     

Alginate: properties and biomedical applications

Alginate is a biomaterial that has found numerous applications in biomedical science and engineering due to its favorable properties, including biocompatibility and ease of gelation. Alginate hydrogels have been particularly attractive in wound healing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering applications to date, as these gels retain structural similarity to the extracellular matrices in tissues and can be manipulated to play several critical roles. This review will provide a comprehensive overview of general properties of alginate and its hydrogels, their biomedical applications, and suggest new perspectives for future studies with these polymers.     

Biodegradable Polyurethane Elastomers for Biomedical Applications – Synthesis Methods and Properties

Biodegradable polyurethane elastomers (BioEPUR) are becoming increasingly important as biomaterials because they have excellent chemical, physico-mechanical and biological properties. This review presents the recent developments on BioEPUR and their potential applications in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. The aim of this work is to present an overview of the various methods of synthesis and properties of biomedical BioEPUR. Polyurethanes-based aliphatic or cycloaliphatic diisocyanates and polyesters, poly(ester-carbonate)s or copolymers of heterocyclic monomers were discussed.     

Recent advances in amino acid-metal coordinated nanomaterials for biomedical applications

Metal and amino acid (AA),as two kinds of entities,have been widely involved in biomaterials and nano-medicines.Recently,the marriage of them has developed new nanoformulations,amino acid-metal coor-dinated nanomaterials (AMCNs),which show great biomedical application potential in cancer therapy,antibacterial applications,biomedical imaging,etc.With the respective characteristics of metal and AA with rich biological and chemical properties,AMCNs can not only act as drug carriers with specific tumor targeting ability,but also realize synergistic therapy and imaging-guided therapy.Although the design and synthesis of amino acid-metal coordinated nanomaterials have been in-depth investigated,there are few systematic reviews on their biomedical application.In this review,we give a comprehensive sum-mary of recent progresses in the design,fabrication,and biomedical applications of AMCNs.We also pro-pose the future outlooks and challenges in aforementioned field.We expect that this review would contribute some inspiration for future research and development for amino acid metal coordinated nanomaterials.     

Biomedical Applications of Magnetically Functionalized Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Nanofibers

Nanofibers are one-dimensional nanomaterial in fiber form with diameter less than 1 µm and an aspect ratio (length/diameter) larger than 100:1. Among the different types of nanoparticle-loaded nanofiber systems, nanofibers loaded with magnetic nanoparticles have gained much attention from biomedical scientists due to a synergistic effect obtained from the unique properties of both the nanofibers and magnetic nanoparticles. These magnetic nanoparticle-encapsulated or -embedded nanofiber systems can be used not only for imaging purposes but also for therapy. In this review, we focused on recent advances in nanofibers loaded with magnetic nanoparticles, their biomedical applications, and future trends in the application of these nanofibers.     

Recent advances in nanocellulose for biomedical applications

Nanocellulose materials have undergone rapid development in recent years as promising biomedical materials because of their excellent physical and biological properties, in particular their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low cytotoxicity. Recently, a significant amount of research has been directed toward the fabrication of advanced cellulose nanofibers with different morphologies and functional properties. These nanocellulose fibers are widely applied in medical implants, tissue engineering, drug delivery, wound‐healing, cardiovascular applications, and other medical applications. In this review, we reflect on recent advancements in the design and fabrication of advanced nanocellulose‐based biomaterials (cellulose nanocrystals, bacterial nanocellulose, and cellulose nanofibrils) that are promising for biomedical applications and discuss material requirements for each application, along with the challenges that the materials might face. Finally, we give an overview on future directions of nanocellulose‐based materials in the biomedical field. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41719.     

Modification of Poly(Vinyl Chloride) for Biocompatibility Improvement and Biomedical Application-Review

Poly(vinyl chloride) is widely used in biomedical devices. This review deals with various applications of PVC and modified PVC in the medical field. Blended, grafted, and plasma-treated modified PVCs are described for various medical applications. Plasma treatment of PVC devices is a versatile and useful method for changing the surface properties, as compared to blending and grafting.     

pHEMA: An Overview for Biomedical Applications

Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) as a biomaterial with excellent biocompatibility and cytocompatibility elicits a minimal immunological response from host tissue making it desirable for different biomedical applications. This article seeks to provide an in-depth overview of the properties and biomedical applications of pHEMA for bone tissue regeneration, wound healing, cancer therapy (stimuli and non-stimuli responsive systems), and ophthalmic applications (contact lenses and ocular drug delivery). As this polymer has been widely applied in ophthalmic applications, a specific consideration has been devoted to this field. Pure pHEMA does not possess antimicrobial properties and the site where the biomedical device is employed may be susceptible to microbial infections. Therefore, antimicrobial strategies such as the use of silver nanoparticles, antibiotics, and antimicrobial agents can be utilized to protect against infections. Therefore, the antimicrobial strategies besides the drug delivery applications of pHEMA were covered. With continuous research and advancement in science and technology, the outlook of pHEMA is promising as it will most certainly be utilized in more biomedical applications in the near future. The aim of this review was to bring together state-of-the-art research on pHEMA and their applications.     

Smart membranes for biomedical applications

Smart membranes with tunable permeability and selectivity have drawn widespread attention because of their unique biomimetic characteristics. Constructed by incorporating various stimuli-responsive materials into membrane substrates, smart membranes could self-adjust their physical/chemical properties(such as pore size and surface properties) in response to environmental signals such as temperature,pH, light, magnetic field, electric field, redox and specific ions/molecules. Such smart membranes...