Carbohydrate-Based Polymers and Nanomaterials for Advanced Technologies*

Carbohydrate-based polymers, termed polysaccharides, are ubiquitous in Nature. They perform a wide range of functions, including providing structural support in plant cell walls, generating swelling pressure in mammalian tissues, protecting microbes from dehydration and toxins, storing solar energy, and regulating binding events on cell surfaces. Owing to their diverse structures and properties, polysaccharides have found numerous industrial and medical applications. For example, they are used to increase the viscosity of food products and drilling fluids, stabilize emulsions, suspensions, and foams, form gels, prevent ice crystal formation, and protect wounds during healing. This presentation will showcase recent efforts at Virginia Tech toward the development of polysaccharide-based advanced technologies with biomedical and drug delivery applications.