ABSTRACT
The creation of materials exploiting molecules from renewable resources and green processing routes in order to minimize contamination of the environment with toxic solvents and starting components, is an important step towards a sustainable society, and sustainable development is critical in all technological fields including biomedical engineering. In this context, the polysaccharides are an important family of molecules, as they can be derived from numerous natural sources including plants, bacteria, insects, animals, and also from by-products/waste-materials obtained from agricultural or fishery activities. Also, polysaccharides are biodegradable and can be broken down by common microorganisms found on land or in water. In nature, polysaccharides can be composed of one type of repeating unit (homopolysaccharides; starch and cellulose) or two or more types of repeating monomer (heteropolysaccharides; pectin, alginate). But despite using only a few basic building blocks, many unique and complex molecular structures with specific features and functions are assembled giving rise to a plethora of diverse carbohydrates. Some of the polysaccharides are classified as polyelectrolytes, and these are either negatively or positively charged. The intrinsic properties of such ionic polysaccharides are used in material science to produce stimuli-responsive materials where external stimuli (pH, ionic strength, and temperature) trigger,
Malmö University, Department of Biomedical Science and Biofilm Research Center for Biointerfaces Health and Society, 20506 Malmö, Sweden.
