title: Advances in biomedical applications of pectin gels.
abstract: Pectin, due to its simple and cytocompatible gelling mechanism, has been recently exploited for different biomedical applications including drug delivery, gene delivery, wound healing and tissue engineering. Recent studies involving pectin for the biomedical field are reviewed, with the aim to capture the state of art on current research about pectin gels for biomedical applications, moving outside the traditional fields of application such as the food industry or pharmaceutics. Pectin structure, sources and extraction procedures have been discussed focussing on the properties of the polysaccharide that can be tuned to optimize the gels for a desired application and possess a fundamental role in application of pectin in the biomedical field.
authors: Laboratorio di Biomateriali, Bioengineering Department and UdR INSTM Milano Politecnico, Politecnico di Milano, P.zza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy. fabiola.munarin@mail.polimi.it
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Munarin
authors: M C
authors: MC
authors: Tanzi
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Petrini
mesh_terms: D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D005782:Gels; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D010368:Pectins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D005782:Gels; D010368:Pectins