Nanostructures for Novel Therapy

Chapter 5

Multifunctional nanostructured biopolymeric materials for therapeutic applications

Ilaria Armentano^‡

Nicoletta Rescignano^**

Eelna Fortunati^*

Samantha Mattioli^*

Francesco Morena^†

Sabata Martino^†

Luigi Torre^*

Josè M. Kenny^*,***    University of Perugia, Terni, Italy^**    Institute of Polymer Science and Technology, CSIC, Madrid, Spain^†    University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy^‡    Tuscia University, Viterbo, Italy

Abstract

This chapter highlights the current state and future prospects of the new generation of multifunctional bionanomaterials, based on different natural or synthetic biopolymers, together with their therapeutic applications. The impact of nanotechnology on biomedical applications has helped to improve the efficacy of available ...