Biopolymers In Medical Field
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There is a wide range of application of biopolymers in medicine which include tissue engineering, wound healing, controlled release of drugs, post surgical treatments, etc. Their application in tissue engineering is mainly due to certain desirable qualities such as suitable surface morphology, mechanical properties, ease in processability and tailorability, degradability, etc. In the field of wound healing the traditional, less effective methods are being replaced by the use of biopolymeric scaffolds which are based on naturally occurring hyaluronic acid thus making it highly biocompatible. Similarly in the area of controlled release of drugs, for beneficial effects to occur, biopolymers are being employed in the form of gels which has yielded desirable results. Also for effective administration of hydrophobic drugs, biopolymers are used as an encapsulation to aid its proper dispersal. The traditional suturing materials require to be removed as they are not degradable or easily accepted by body cells. So to overcome these limitations biopolymeric materials especially shape memory polymers are used. They are very simple to use and make it possible to conduct modern keyhole surgeries, with almost no blood loss.
The field of textiles is a huge one whose innumerable branches have reached into and are still reaching into various other fields thus resulting in highly innovative, extremely useful state-of-the-art products. A few of these new fields include geo-textiles, aerospace-textiles, automobile-textiles, medical-textiles, nano-textiles, etc. Of these medical textiles is a field which is given especial importance as it pertains to precious human life. Among the various advancements taking place in it, the increasing use of biopolymers in the production of various biocompatible products, etc. is an area of great interest. The wide range of application of biopolymers in medicine includes
Biopolymers in tissue engineering