Latex and natural rubber: processing techniques for biomedical applications

Abstract

Natural rubber latex (NRL) and natural rubber (NR) from Hevea brasiliensis have been considered promising biopolymers due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and angiogenic properties. These biomaterials provide elastic, flexible, and soft structures with easy processability, which is particularly interesting to develop biomedical implements applied in regenerative medicine for wound care, tissue regeneration, and drug delivery system. This review highlights the state of the art of NRL and NR with a focus on processing techniques for biomedical science. The manufacturing of membranes through casting and dressings and scaffolds through electrospinning is first explored. Other techniques are discussed including spraying and dipping, compression, extrusion, protein extraction and blow spinning. The final remarks and future perspectives are presented to contribute to future research related to the manufacturing of biomaterials with the desired characteristics for biomedical applications and regenerative medicine. Despite the significant development faced in recent years, the design of more efficient NRL- and NR-based biomaterials for biomedical applications and your commercialization is still needed.