Adaptation of biopolymers to specific applications

VERÓNICA BRUNETTI; MARTINELLI, MARISA; ÁLVAREZ IGARZABAL CECILIA; MIRIAM STRUMIA

Surface Modification of Biopolymers

John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Lugar: Washington; Año: 2015; p. 84 - 113

Biopolymers are a diverse and versatile type of materials that have potential applications in virtually all sectors of the economy. Therefore, they play a central role both in the natural world and in modern industries. They can be used as adhesives, absorbents, cosmetics, lubricants, textiles, as drug delivery vehicles, in food production, and in medicine. Currently, biopolymers can be tailored to cover specific needs. This chapter is focused on revising how surface modifications can be driven to obtain the specific application properties of the different biopolymers. Our interest is to analyze the structure/property relationship that may help decide the right biopolymer to choose for each specific use. We approach four specific areas: drug controlled release, packaging, supports of affinity chromatography and biosensors. In this sense, we propose to describe the most widely used polymers, the modifications needed for a specific application and the effectiveness of each of them in the desired application.