Chapter 10 - Marine seaweed polysaccharides in tissue engineering

Abstract

Marine bodies are considered to be a rich source of minerals and polysaccharides. After years of intensive research, scientists have reported that marine biodiversity has a vast variety of bioactive compounds like glycosaminoglycans present in deep sea algae and sponges. These are found in abundance and also pose a small risk of causing illness in human beings. Most of the deep-sea-derived compounds are targeted for tissue engineering and drug delivery mechanisms. Since they belong to the organic ecosystem, they can be biocompatible, biodegradable, and bioinert when used as a substitute in tissue engineering. Focusing primarily on the marine polysaccharides, the commonly used polysaccharides in tissue engineering are: Chitin, chitosan, alginate, fucoidan, carrageenan, and agarose. These polysaccharides are highly suitable for preparing scaffolds and hydrogels that can be employed in various aspects of tissue engineering, such as wound healing, osteoconduction, chondrogenesis, corneal regeneration, improved cardiac mechanism and differentiation, and finally, dermal and muscular regeneration. These are some key areas of focus that the tissue regeneration is concentrated upon when it comes to using marine polysaccharides. Additionally, marine polysaccharides are also used in antiviral and antibacterial property enhancement, cancer therapy, immunology, as active components in bioadhesive membranes, and as a treatment for metabolic disorders. The marine ecosystem serves as a reservoir of a plethora of treatment and treatment strategies that are waiting to be discovered. In this chapter, we will be focusing upon the prime marine polysaccharides of study and their contribution in the various branches of tissue engineering.