Biologically derived materials

Although biologically derived materials may be renewable, they may not be sustainable at an economic rate of exploitation. Alternative synthetic or bioprocessing routes to materials maybe necessary alongside bio-prospecting. 

Factors to be Controlled Biologically Derived Materials Synthetic Materials Biohybridized and Biomimicking Materials... 

Materials. The building blocks for APIs are currently derived almost exclusively from petrochemical sources. New materials, including biologically derived materials, must be developed. 

Many natural materials are hydrophilic and show excellent biocompatibility. Proteins and carbohydrates of high molecular weight are extracted rather than synthesized chemically. On the down side, when the material is derived from mammalian tissue there is a certain risk of disease transmission and/or allergic reactions. Nevertheless, many biologically derived materials have just the desired properties for applications in nerve repair. 

In comparison with biologically derived materials, synthetic polymers have several advantages and disadvantages. Since they do not need to be extracted from animal tissue they pose a lower risk of contamination and immunological reaction. Their physical and chemical properties can be better controlled and manipulated. On the other hand, synthetic materials usually do not activate specific cellular receptors and therefore do not by themselves elicit the desired cellular responses such as axonal growth or cell migration. Some materials may even be rejected or encapsulated in scar tissue. 

Charcoal is made of carbon and ash and is formed when water and other substances are removed from animals or plants. It can be produced by heating wood or other biologically derived materials in the absence of oxygen. 

The sensitive biological element, including biological material (e.g., tissue, microorganisms, organelles, cell receptors, enzymes, antibodies, nucleic acids etc.) and a biologically derived material or biomimic). 

Various definitions have been given to the word biosensor. The journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics defines a biosensor as an analytical device incorporating a biological material, a biologically derived material, or a biomimic, intimately associated with or integrated... 

Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) have been extensively studied due to the fact that they combine similar stimulus response properties to other artificial polymers such as poly(iV-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) with the advantages of a biologically derived material, that is, it is biocompatible, modular in its composition, and can be obtained by biological processes. ELPs are polypeptides that contain a short, repetitive peptide sequence, most commonly (VPGXG) that is derived from tropoelastin, the precursor of elastin. In this sequence, X represents any amino acid sequence except proline. Polypeptides composed of the pentapeptide repeat unit VPGXG possess a reversible lower critical solution temperature (LCST). Below the LCST, the peptide is soluble... 

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