Polysaccharide-Fibrous Clay Bionanocomposites and their Applications

Abstract

Bionanocomposites are multifunctional materials, which contain biological origin and particles, have nanometer-scale dimensions (1–100 nm) and can be employed in a vast range of applications in fields like tissue engineering, electronic appliances, biosensors, regenerative medicine, drug delivery systems and food packaging due to their remarkable advantage of exhibiting biocompatibility, antibacterial activity, and biodegradability. To develop naturally biodegradable materials like bionanocomposites, several biopolymers are employed in recent years. Polysaccharides are made up of sugar molecules linked together by glycosidic bonds. These polymeric carbohydrates, which are the most prevalent polymers in nature, are gaining interests as a feasible replacement for synthetic polymers in nanocomposite materials manufacturing. Polysaccharides are promising matrix for the production of green nanocomposites due to their biodegradable nature and biocompatible qualities, hierarchical structure, and high film-forming ability. This chapter discusses the processing, properties, characterisation, and applications of bio-based nanocomposites with various polysaccharides functionalized by various nanofillers.