Preparation of biopolymer-based materials using ionic liquids for the biomedical application

The insolubility of unmodified biopolymers in most organic solvents has limited the applications of biopolymer-based materials and composites. Because of their inherent biocompatibility and biodegradability, such materials have many potential applications in biomedicine, including for tissue engineering, drug delivery systems, wound treatment, dialysis membranes, and biosensors. Ionic liquids (ILs) are good solvents for polar organic, nonpolar organic, inorganic and polymeric compounds. Biopolymers such as cellulose, chitin/chitosan, silk, and DNA can be fabricated from ILs into films, membranes, fibers, spheres, and molded shapes. Various biopolymer/biopolymer and biopolymer/synthetic polymer composites also can be prepared by co-dissolution of polymers into IL mixtures. Heparin/biopolymer composites are especially of interest in preparing materials with enhanced blood compatibility.