Modular Assembly of Biomaterials Using Polyphenols as Building Blocks.

Polyphenols are building blocks with many advantages for engineering biomaterials because they are abundant in nature, biocompatible, biodegradable, and capable of assembly through different mechanisms. A variety of biomaterials across different length scales can be made with different physical/chemical properties and unique stimuli responses using modular and straightforward synthesis routes. We review the recent progress of biomaterials engineering based on polyphenols under three broad categories, namely, particles, films, and gels. The size and scale of the biomaterial along with the specific building blocks allow for a variety of biological applications including drug delivery and theranostics. The dynamic interactions, assembly processes, biological functions, and applications of a wide variety of representative polyphenol biomaterials are overviewed.