Biopolymeric conjugation with metals and their applications

Abstract

Abstract The pressing priority in designing sustainable materials has to focus on decreasing dependence on fossil fuel as well as utilization of environmentally friendly bio-based resources. In this respect, materials derived from biopolymers are competent in both aspects. While these materials tend to be biocompatible and biodegradable, they can be cultivated from natural renewable resources. To incorporate specific functionalities, these biopolymers can be chemically modified to form the metal based biopolymeric conjugates. Often these conjugates are designed as nano-entities, thereby, leading to their unique inherent properties. Characterization of these biopolymeric conjugates of metals encompass interdisciplinary analytical techniques like, UV–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, elemental (CHN) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, etc. In terms of applications, a wide variety of activity has been discovered by various research groups and hence these hybrid materials can be utilized as medications, pharmaceuticals, chemical catalysts, food packaging, electronics, and many more. Herein, a brief overview of different biopolymeric conjugates of diverse metals has been given, whereby their synthesis, characterization as well as their specific applications have been reviewed.