Abstract
Bacterial biopolymers are naturally occurring materials comprising a wide range of molecules with diverse chemical structures that can be produced from renewable sources following the principles of the circular economy. Over the last decades, they have gained substantial interest in the biomedical field as drug nanocarriers, implantable material coatings, and tissue-regeneration scaffolds or membranes due to their inherent biocompatibility, biodegradability into nonhazardous disintegration products, and their mechanical properties, which are similar to those of human tissues. The present review focuses upon three technologically advanced bacterial biopolymers, namely, bacterial cellulose (BC), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), and γ-polyglutamic acid (PGA), as models of different carbon-backbone structures (polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides) produced by bacteria that are suitable for biomedical applications in nanoscale systems. This selection models evidence of the wide versatility of microorganisms to generate biopolymers by diverse metabolic strategies. We highlight the suitability for applied sustainable bioprocesses for the production of BC, PHA, and PGA based on renewable carbon sources and the singularity of each process driven by bacterial machinery. The inherent properties of each polymer can be fine-tuned by means of chemical and biotechnological approaches, such as metabolic engineering and peptide functionalization, to further expand their structural diversity and their applicability as nanomaterials in biomedicine.
Highlights
Ongoing global population growth and aging imply an increase in global demand for sustainable development, which involves the rational use of resources and the maintenance of ecosystem services [1]
Current strategies based on cutting-edge technologies, such as synthetic and systems biology combined with advanced materials technology, provide pathways for enhancing the structural and functional complexity of these biopolymers, thereby expanding the catalog of available biomaterials beyond that which exists in nature and extending their potential applications in the biomedical sector [3]
This review provides insight toward the recent advances in bacterial biopolymer production by upcycling bioprocesses, their main uses in the biomedical field as nanomaterials, and, the different approaches to structurally diversify these polymers to further expand their applications
Summary
Ongoing global population growth and aging imply an increase in global demand for sustainable development, which involves the rational use of resources and the maintenance of ecosystem services [1]. Different types of nanocarriers loaded with a particular drug (namely, nanospheres, nanocapsules, polymeric micelles) are employed for drug delivery because they enhance the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of the drugs by increasing the bioavailability of bioactive molecules that present poor solubility in water, promoting sustained release and enhancing permeability across biological barriers They can reduce side effects by enabling targeted and controlled drug release [6]. Bacterial polymers are interesting for nanocarrier formulations due to their intrinsic biocompatibility and biodegradability properties, which enable the release of the encapsulated compound associated with the degradation of the polymeric matrix into nontoxic monomers Another area of interest in relation to biopolymers involves surface coatings of temporary or permanent implantable medical devices. Polymeric matrices are involved in diverse cell functions, such as promoters of bacterial adhesion, energy and carbon storage, pathogenicity factors, or biofilm constituents [5]
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