Perspectives on Biomedical Applications of Ulvan

Ulvan, a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from green algae belonging to Ulva species, has been shown to display a wide range of biological properties that significantly contribute to the beneficial health effects obtained by algal food consumption. The present book chapter aims to provide an overview of the more recently adopted strategies for the exploitation of Ulvan as polymer matrix for biomedical applications. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of Ulvan based hydrogels for tissue engineering and cells and drug delivery. Routes for the chemical modification of Ulvan to obtain chemically crosslinked preformed hydrogel networks are described, together with the development of Ulvan based in situ forming injectable hydrogels. Recent biomedical research exploiting nonadhesive and antimicrobial properties of Ulvan, as well as its spontaneous supramolecular aggregation behavior in aqueous solution, is also reported highlighting how the outstanding biological properties of this sulfated polysaccharide can meet the needs required by innovative approaches in wound dressing, antimicrobial coatings and micro/nanoformulations. Finally, the challenging aspects of a sustainable exploitation of the algal biomass for the production of a versatile platform of bioactive polysaccharides, satisfying the stringent requirements of industrial development and regulatory authority approval, are critically discussed.