Chapter 4 - Biointeraction of nanomaterials with marine biopolymers

Abstract

Marine biopolymers are of great interest owing to their structure, function, and physiochemical properties with diverse biological cues. Marine organisms/biocompounds can withstand hypervariable conditions as well as have better antibacterial, antiinflammatory, and antioxidant properties than the terrestrial environment, which can be exploited in the field of biology, biotechnology, and biomedicine. Recent advancements in nanotechnology have made a tremendous application in disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment by being employed as imaging and sensing agents, targeted drug and gene delivery vehicles, and implants. Due to their unique size and surface-to-volume ratio, they exhibit thermodynamic, magnetic, and electrochemical properties that are not offered by other tools. In recent years, more focus is paid to the development of marine-inspired nanoparticles based on marine biopolymers or the green synthesis of nanoparticles utilizing marine organisms. These compounds can also be loaded into the nanocarriers, which can be used in precision medicine. It is necessary to understand the biointeraction of these marine-inspired nanoparticles with the ecosystem or the human system to develop novel applications. This chapter focuses on the interaction of marine-derived nanomaterials with various biopolymers, their mechanism, and the effect of these interactions in the biological system. This paves way for the development of new technology/strategies in the field of biomedicine.