Main description:

This book presents an experimental and computational account of the applications of biopolymers in the field of medicine. Biopolymers are macromolecules produced by living systems, such as proteins, polypeptides, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides. Their advantages over polymers produced using synthetic chemistry include: diversity, abundance, relatively low cost, and sustainability. This book explains techniques for the production of different biodevices, such as scaffolds, hydrogels, functional nanoparticles, microcapsules, and nanocapsules. Furthermore, developments in nanodrug delivery, gene therapy, and tissue engineering are described.

Contents:

Biopolymers: introduction and current status. Electrostatic interactions in biopolymer systems. Bioinformatic tools in biopolymer area. Molecular dynamic simulations of biopolymers. Microcalorimetric tools in biopolymer area. Mechanicbiochemistry of single biopolymer molecules. Silk-elastin-like co-recombinamer. Chitosan-stabilised blood clots regeneration of cartilage in animal models. Collagen Scaffolds for medical applications. Biopolymers hydrogels for tissue engineering. Functional biopolymer particles. Biopolymer drug delivery microcapsules. Aantimicrobial effects of biopolymers. Application of natural and semi-synthetic biopolymers for the delivery of sensitive drugs. Cellulose nanofibres for medical applications. Biopolymers Influence in Cell Growth.