Carbohydrate Polymers

Dear Colleagues,

Carbohydrate polymers are long chains of saccharides linked via glycosidic bonds and are also known as polysaccharides. They are the most abundant natural polymer on the planet serving as major structural elements in plants [ i.e. cellulose] and animals [i.e. chitin in arthropods and hyaluronan in mammals], or as a food storage mechanism [ i.e. starch and glycogen]. Because of their wide distribution and availability from animal and plant sources, and versatility for chemical modification, carbohydrate polymers have received much attention as a renewable resource.  As processing, manufacturing, and chemical and physical modification advances, carbohydrate polymeric materials will emerge with many exciting applications and unprecedented functionalities from directing tissue regeneration and targeting drugs/therapeutics for treating disease/infection, to improving food safety, and acting as biosensors and environmentally sensitive membranes.

In this special issue we aim at covering recent progress and novel applications of carbohydrate polymers in the food, agricultural/environmental, medical, and sensor fields.  We invite reviews, new concept ideas, basic research and developmental papers on biotechnology, processing/manufacturing, characterization, chemical and physical modification and engineering of carbohydrate polymers with special emphasis on structure-property-application relationships.

Prof. Dr. Joel D. Bumgardner
Guest Editor