Dear Colleagues,

Carbohydrate polymers are key building blocks in many materials dedicated to biomedical applications. They are selected for their biocompatibility, degradability, natural occurrence in living tissues, and biological properties (e.g., mucoadhesion, anticoagulant activity, etc.). They also offer extensive possibilities of chemical modification and combination with other building blocks (e.g., synthetic or biopolymers, nanoparticles, etc.). This enables the design of complex and multifunctional materials endowed with properties such as stretchability, mechanical strength, biological or chemical sensing, electrical conductivity, self-healing, or shape morphing ability. Interestingly, depending on the processing method, they can be obtained in different shapes to better fit specific medical applications: fibers, nano- or microparticles, injectable or printable hydrogels, films and coatings, aerogels, or cryogels. However, challenges should still be overcome to expand the translation of such materials to the clinical field. Because of the complexity, multifunctionality, and sometimes fragility of such materials, processing is one such challenge. To enable preclinical and clinical testing of polysaccharide-based medical devices, there is presently a huge need to develop innovative processing methods or consolidate existing ones, with the idea of improving their robustness, batch-to-batch reproducibility, scale-up possibility, and taking into account good GMPs and sterilization constraints.

This Special Issue will cover a selection of recent research topics and current review articles in the field of processing methods of carbohydrate polymer-based materials, which include for instance advanced cross-linking methods, soft microfabrication (e.g., molding, photolithography, bioprinting, etc.), freeze-drying, electro-spinning, or the use of microfluidics. Topics on original carbohydrate polymer materials in relation to processing methods in medical devices and clinical translation are also welcome.

Dr. Isabelle Texier
Prof. Dr. Rachel Auzély
Guest Editors

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• electrospun fibers
• aerogels
• cryogels
• patterned hydrogels
• injectable hydrogels
• bioinks
• stimuli- responsible hydrogels
• nanoparticles
• microparticles
• self-healing materials
• shape-morphing materials
• smart actuators