New updates on peptides and peptide-based biopolymeric materials: medical, pharmaceutical and sensors applications

Abstract

This review highlights recent advancements in the integration of peptides with natural biopolymers, focusing on their applications in regenerative medicine, novel scaffolds for cell growth, and innovative therapeutic and diagnostic strategies for chronic and infectious diseases. The functionalization of biopolymers derived from living organisms with peptides represents a transformative approach in biomaterial development. By exploring the synergistic combination of biopolymers such as nanocelluloses, including cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) or bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), hyaluronic acid (HA), silk fibroin (SF), alginate, chitosan (CS), pectin, gelatin among others with several classes of peptides, this review focused on critically analyzing the most recent studies addressing the design of multifunctional materials and biomaterials. These materials demonstrate enhanced responsiveness to physiological stimuli while maintaining superior mechanical and chemical stability, which are essential to supporting the growth, proliferation, and differentiation of various cell types, including fibroblasts, keratinocytes, osteoblasts, and neuronal mesenchymal stem cells, among others. The incorporation of peptides not only improves the structural integrity of these (bio)materials but also provides specific bio-recognition capabilities, facilitating targeted therapeutic interventions, while enhancing therapeutic response through their inherent anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Furthermore, this review emphasizes the potential of peptide-biopolymer conjugates in advancing biosensing technologies, offering novel diagnostic tools for disease detection. Overall, it emphasizes the promising role of peptide-biopolymer approaches in addressing critical health challenges.