ABSTRACT
A significant issue that has been under discussion lately when considering the use of natural polymers in health is the risk of posing diseases from animals to humans. Biopolymers from marine origin have gained an increased interest in the market of different fields. Paul Scheuer from the University of Hawaii, was the first chemist to study marine natural products in 1950s until his death in 2003. The processing of the main marine biopolymers by electrospinning to render structures for tissue engineering will be addressed in more detail, giving particular attention to the ones highlighted previously. Regarding electrospinning, most of the marine biopolymers still lack deeper study before being considered as established and validated building blocks for the production of biomaterials using this processing technique, despite the steps already given with marine collagen and chitosan. Even though they are naturally derived compounds, they show some adequate properties for their use in tissue engineering, such as biodegradability and biocompatibility.
