Modified Biopolymers: Challenges & Opportunities

Biopolymers such as cellulose, lignin, starch, pectin, chitin, xylan, etc. are copiously available in nature in the form of plant biomass. They have been used for various applications such as biofuels, nanobiocomposites, biomedicine, etc. Biopolymers have unique antimicrobial properties, and are thus used for food packaging. The field of biomaterials is interdisciplinary and includes chemistry, biology and medicine. There are different ways to apply biopolymers for the benefit of our society. Although natural polymers are cheap and available in large quantities, it is still difficult to utilise their potentials. Still, there are challenges to develop new methodologies for the efficient and economic utilisation of these biopolymers. Consequently, the modification of these materials is the focus of recent scientific research. These modifications improve the various properties of biopolymers required for specific applications. Modifications improve heat, moisture resistance, solubility in water, sustainability, flexibility, compatibility, biodegradability, etc. Biopolymers modified by blending shows considerable improvement in the impact resistance of brittle polymers. Biopolymer systems containing particles with one or more dimensions in the nanometer scale are called bionanocomposites, a special class of materials possessing unique thermal stability, fire resistance, mechanical and optical properties. Bionanocomposites have been effectively used in controlled drug delivery, food packaging, etc. About the Author Deepak Pathania is Professor & Dean, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Shoolini University Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India. He had about 16 years of teaching and research experience. He started his teaching career in 2000 from NIT, Jalandhar, Punjab. He joined as Assistant Professor and Head, Department of Applied Sciences, Institute of Engineering and Technology, Phagwara, Punjab in 2005. He also functioned in Punjab University Post Graduates College for three years in Punjab. He was shifted to University at Himachal Pradesh as Head Department of Applied Sciences and Humanities in 2008. He is members of different professional scientific societies. He had guided 8 Ph.D and 10 M.Phil and 17 M.Sc. projects for their degree. Presently he is guiding 5 students for their Ph.D degree. He had authorized six books in different areas of interest from believed publishers. He is working on 2 books being published by Springer Germany. He is editorial members and reviewer of different national and international journals. He had about 90 publications in Journals and 115 in conferences to his credit. His area of research includes polymer based composites, nanocomposite ion exchangers, graft copolymerization, fiber reinforced composite, environmental chemistry, photocatalysis etc.