Natural Biomaterials from Biodiversity for Healthcare Applications
Erick Insuasti‐Cruz, Victoria Suárez‐Jaramillo, Kevin Andres Mena Urresta, Kevin O. Pila‐Varela, Xiomira Fiallos‐Ayala, Si Amar Dahoumane, Frank Alexis
Abstract
Natural biomaterials originating during the growth cycles of all living organisms have been used for many applications. They span from bioinert to bioactive materials including bioinspired ones. As they exhibit an increasing degree of sophistication, natural biomaterials have proven suitable to address the needs of the healthcare sector. Here the different natural healthcare biomaterials, their biodiversity sources, properties, and promising healthcare applications are reviewed. The variability of their properties as a result of considered species and their habitat is also discussed. Finally, some limitations of natural biomaterials are discussed and possible future developments are provided as more natural biomaterials are yet to be discovered and studied.