Human civilization has witnessed the use of materials-derived from biomolecules of
plants and animal origin for biomedical applications since ancient era. In recent
years, precision design principles have been adopted to develop novel biomaterials
derived from biomolecules. The biomolecules-derived biomaterials fabrication is dependent
on chemical, biochemical and mechanical parameters of biomolecules and their bulk
materials. Thus, structural variations and weak noncovalent interactions present within
the basic building blocks greatly influence the functional features and applications.
This comprehensive review provides one-stop information on recent innovations of various
biomaterial-types derived from a diverse class of biomolecules through selected and
representative examples with potential biomedical applications ranging from diagnosis,
biosensing, antimicrobial efficacy, anticancer therapeutics, drug delivery, bioprinting,
bioimaging, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The discussion systematically
follows the top-down approach in the order of molecular complexity viz., biomacromolecules,
oligomers and monomers of all classes of biomolecules (proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates
and lipids) including a special section on biohybrid materials derived from molecular
systems integrated with more than one class of biomolecules. In addition to providing
overview of impressive advancements in the area, synergistic integration of biomolecules
with synthetic materials to develop smart biomaterials is emphasized to improve the
chemical, mechanical, stimuli-responsiveness, immunogenicity and biocompatibility
features.