Marine Algae Hydrogels as Emerging Biomaterials for Medicine

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Marine Biotechnology
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Marine algae, microalgae, and Cyanophyceae are rich sources of biomacromolecules.
• Phycocolloids like alginate, agar, carrageenan, ulvan, and extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) offer biocompatibility and tunable properties.
• These marine-derived compounds are suitable for fabricating hydrogels with biomedical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive review of marine-derived hydrogels for biomedical applications.
• To explore fabrication strategies and composite systems.
• To examine current and future applications in regenerative medicine and drug delivery.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on marine-derived hydrogels.
• Analysis of hydrogel fabrication techniques (physical, chemical, hybrid crosslinking).
• Examination of composite hydrogel systems incorporating proteins, glycosaminoglycans, and nanomaterials.

Main Results:

• Marine-derived hydrogels exhibit biocompatibility, tunable gelation, and bioactivity supporting cell functions.
• Applications span skin, cartilage, bone, neural, and cardiovascular tissue engineering, plus controlled drug delivery.
• Marine hydrogels are emerging as effective bioinks for 3D and 4D bioprinting.

Conclusions:

• Marine-derived hydrogels are promising next-generation biomaterials for regenerative medicine.
• Challenges include extract variability, purification, mechanical properties, and standardization.
• Future directions involve genetic engineering, multifunctional hybrids, scalable production, and clinical translation.