Several bacteria, algae, fungi and yeasts are known to produce exopolysaccharides (EPS). Ability of microorganisms to produce EPS is direct and logical response to selective pressures in that natural environment. Exopolysaccharides are studied from hydrothermal vent bacteria, halobacteria, methanogens, autotrophic organisms, acidophiles as well as from ground water and sewage sludge microorgani...

Worldwide every year approximately 140 million tonnes of synthetic polymers are produced. These polymers are stable and their degradation cycle in the biosphere is limited. This necessitates the need for natural biodegradable polymers which fit into the ecological cycle. Among these biopolymers, chitosan, a partially deacetylated form of biopolymer chitin has been receiving more attention due t...

Chitin, the second most important natural polymer in the world, and its N-deacetylated derivative chitosan, have been identified as versatile biopolymers for a broad range of applications in medicine, agriculture and the food industry. Two of the main reasons for this are firstly the unique chemical, physicochemical and biological properties of chitin and chitosan, and secondly the unlimited su...

The term bionanocomposites was introduced several years ago, to define an emerging class of biohybrid materials, resulting from the combination of biopolymers such as polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids, etc. with inorganic solids at the nanometric scale [1] and [2]. Such inorganic fraction consists of finely divided solids, spanning from clays to phosphates or carbonates, whose origin can...

Droplet microfluidics offers precise and simultaneous control of multiple fluids at microscale, which enables synthesis novel microparticles with compositional structural diversity in a controllable way. The morphology functionality generated can be well designed by modulating the hydrodynamic profile as geometric structures. synergistic combination droplet biodegradable materials makes it poss...

Biopolymers are promising materials in the delivery of protein drugs due to their compatibility, degradation behavior, and nontoxic nature on administration. On suitable chemical modification, these polymers can provide better materials for drug delivery systems. Nanostructured drug carriers allow the delivery of not only small-molecule drugs but also of nucleic acids and proteins. The use of b...

curcumin is a natural polyphenolic compound with anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidation properties. low water solubility and rapid hydrolytic degradation are two challenges limiting use of curcumin as therapeutic agent. in the current study, the role of the bovine serum albumin (bsa), β-lactoglobulin and casein, as food-grade biopolymers and safe drug delivery systems, on the physic...

An eight-session interdisciplinary laboratory curriculum has been designed using a suite of analytical chemistry techniques to study biomaterials derived from an inexpensive source such as the tomato fruit. A logical progression of research-inspired laboratory modules serves to "tour" the macroscopic characteristics of the fruit and the submicroscopic properties of its constituent cuticular bio...