Furfuryl- and Maleimido Polysaccharides: Synthetic Strategies Toward Functional Biomaterials

In context with facile and efficient syntheses of functional polymeric materials, the combination of polysaccharides and functional moieties based on renewable resources is a sustainable and valuable approach. This review presents alternatives to prominent click reactions utilizing biopolymer derivatives with furfuryl and maleimide groups. On the one hand, the cross-linking by Diels-Alder reaction of these polymers enables the synthesis of novel materials in the fields of self-healing polymers, tissue engineering, and drug delivery. On the other hand, thiol-ene click reactions allow their conjugation to complex (bio)molecules. Different synthetic strategies are reviewed and the applicability of functional materials is evaluated.