Biodegradable Antibiotic Importers in Medicine

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria present a severe clinical threat to human health, and polymer materials play an essential role in the delivery of antibiotics to inhibit or annihilate target bacterial and similar microbes. These polymers are employed as a potential matrix to control the release of antibiotics and for antibacterial treatment. Most of these polymers, either having antibacterial properties or modified to exhibit antibacterial abilities, are petroleum-based polymers. A promising sustainable alternative to petroleum-based antibacterial polymers is the biobased polymers because of the additional benefit they provide. Biobased polymers have an essential advantage of being bioassimilable and expunged after serving their intended function. Polysaccharides, proteins/polypeptides, polyurethanes, and polyesters constitute significant classes of the biodegradable-antibacterial polymer. This chapter reviews the recent development in the use of biodegradable polymers as antibiotic importers for medical applications.