Polysaccharides: Structures and materials for biomedical applications

Polysaccharides and their derivatives possess a significant potential to be used as biomaterials in life sciences owing to their large abundance and their function they execute in nature. To harness this potential it is necessary to develop, understand and utilize techniqes that allow for the manufacturing of defined polysaccharide based structures and materials. Such structures can be thin film coatings with micro- to nanoscale patterns of hydrophilic cellulose or functional nano-particles composed of fluorescent hydrophobic polysaccharide derivatives. Subsequently these structures can be evaluated with respect to their interaction with molecules of biologic origin including water soluble polysaccharides, proteins, enzymes and DNA. By exploiting selective interactions discovered through such studies one arrives at materials that are capable of providing unprecedented properties. Examples are given how such an approach can be used to obtain polysaccaride based matrices for an effective enzyme immobilization or DNA detection.