Biodegradable Polymeric Materials in Tissue Engineering and their Application in Drug Delivery

In the last decade, biodegradable polymeric materials have gained significant interest among researchers in several aspects due to their self-degradability at the site of application either in drug delivery forms or in implants. A critical requirement for polymeric materials is biocompatibility – the ability of a material to function with an appropriate host response in a specific application. Importantly, a biodegradable polymeric material product requires excellent biocompatibility over time because the physicochemical, mechanical, and biological properties of biopolymers will differ with time and, thus, the resulting degradation products can possess varying levels of tissue compatibility as compared with the initial parent material. An ideal biodegradable biomaterial should have degradation products that are non-toxic and easily metabolized and cleared from the body. Biodegradable polymeric materials are favored in the development of therapeutic devices, including temporary implants, 2/3-dimensional scaffolds for tissue engineering, and skin tissue regeneration. Furthermore, significant advancements have occurred in the utilization of biodegradable polymeric materials for pharmacological applications such as delivery vehicles for targeted and controlled/sustained drug release. These applications require particular physicochemical, biological, and degradation properties of the materials to deliver effective therapy. As a result, a wide range of natural or synthetic biopolymers that can undergo hydrolytic or enzymatic degradation has been explored for biomedical applications.

This review outlines the current development of biodegradable natural and synthetic polymeric materials for various biomedical applications, including tissue engineering, temporary implants, wound healing, drug delivery in the context of tissue regeneration, etc. Additionally, the theme also covers research in the field of polymer/powder engineering applied in the fabrication of composite/scaffold/transdermal patches in the treatment or regeneration of skin tissue.

The topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Biodegradable polymeric materials for skin tissue regeneration
• Processed biodegradable polymeric materials
• Graft smart polymeric materials in the design of a novel drug delivery system
• 2D functional composite using biodegradable natural polymers in wound healing applications
• 3D-printed functional biodegradable polymers for the development of scaffold
• Physio-biomechanics of biomaterials and implantable drug delivery systems
• Synthesis of biogenic metallic nanomaterials using biopolymers for sensing applications

The papers focusing on clinical and translational research fall within the scope of this section. The original contributions in the form of research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, corrections, and methods will be considered for review.