Carboxymethyl Guar Gum: Bridging the Gap Between Biopolymers and Advanced Functional Materials
Vratika Verma, Jagram Meena, Teena Saini, S. Saini, Rajdeep Malik
Abstract
Synthetic polymers pose significant environmental and biomedical challenges, including non-biodegradability, microplastic accumulation, petrochemical reliance, and hazardous additive leaching. These issues drive concerns over ecological contamination and regulatory constraints. These challenges necessitate the development of eco-friendly alternatives, with biodegradable biopolymers emerging as a promising solution. Among them, Carboxymethyl Guar Gum (CMGG) stands out for its enhanced solubility, tunable rheology, and biodegradability, making it a viable candidate for sustainable material applications. This review explores CMGG’s synthesis via carboxymethylation, structural modifications, and physicochemical characterizations using FTIR, UV-visible spectroscopy, XRD, TEM, and HRTEM. CMGG demonstrates versatile applications in biomedical engineering (drug delivery, wound healing), sustainable packaging (biodegradable films, stabilizers), and industrial formulations (hydrogels, rheology modifiers). Its potential in next-generation biomaterials highlights its role in advancing sustainable material science while addressing the limitations of conventional polymers.