Includes bibliographical references (pages [345]-406) and index.

1. Chitosan and chitosan derivatives as chelating agents / Hiba M. Zalloum and Mohammad S. Mubarak -- 2. Chitosan composites for biomedical applications : an overview / R. Ramya, Z. Ansar Ali, and P.N. Sudha -- 3. Chitosan-based materials in waste water treatment : recent developments / Hemlatha R., Shanmugapriya A., and Sudha P.N. -- 4. Maize-natural fiber as reinforcement with polymers for structural applications / Saravana D. Bavan and Mohan G. C. Kumar -- 5. Poly-[beta]-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) : a biodegradable polymer of microbial origin / N. S. Gangurde and R.Z. Sayyed -- 6. Barrier properties of biodegradable bacterial polyester films / Nadege Follain. [et al.] -- 7. Silk fibers and their unidirectional polymer composites / Mansur Ahmed. [et al.] -- 8. Bionanocomposites for multidimensional brain cell signaling / Mark A. DeCoster. [et al.] -- 9. Salix Viminalis as a source of nanomaterials and bioactive natural substances / A. Cyganiuk. [et al.] -- 10. Properties of differently compatibilized bamboo fiber reinforced PE composites / Sandeep Kumar -- 11. Jute/polyester composites / S.K. Malhotra -- 12. Control of the hyaluronidase activity towards hyaluronan by formation of electrostatic complexes : fundamental and application relevance / Brigitte Deschrevel -- 13. Spider silk-production and biomedical applications / Anna Rising, Mona Widhe, and My Hedhammar -- 14. New nanocomposite materials based on cellulose fibers and other biopolymers / Carmen S. R. Freire. [et al.] -- 15. Cross-linking chemistry of type I and type III collagen with anionic polysaccharides / A. Gnanamani. [et al.] -- 16. Cellulose fiber reinforced poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites / Nina Graupner and Jorg Mussig -- 17. Isolation of cellulose nanowhiskers from kenaf fiber / Hanieh Kargarzadeh. [et al.] -- 18. Bio-hybrid nanocomposite roll-to-roll coatings for fiber-based materials and plastics / Jari Vartiainen, Vesa Kunnari, and Annaleena Kokko -- 19. Advances in collagen-based tissue engineering / Krystyna Pietrucha -- 20. Pectic polysaccharides of fruits : characterization, fractional changes and industrial application / Kausik Majumder -- 21. Synthesis and characterization of alkyd resin microcapsules / Hariharan Raja. [et al.] -- 22. Environmental recovery by magnetic nanocomposites based on castor oil / Souza, Jr. Fernando Gomes, Oliveira, Geiza Esperandio, and Lopes Magnovaldo Carvalho -- 23. Magnetic biofoams based on polyurethane applied in oil spill cleanup processes / Oliveira, Geiza Esperandio, Souza Jr., Fernando Gomes, and Lopes, Magnolvaldo Carvalho -- 24. self-assembly of lipid A-phosphates : supramolecular liquid crystals / Henrich H. Paradies. [et al.] -- 25. Bone mechanical stimulation with piezoelectric materials / J. Reis. [et al.] -- 26. Role of water in dielectric properties of starch membranes / Perumal Ramasamy -- 27. Tribo performance of T-bfrp composite subjected to dry/wet contact conditions / Umar Nirmal. [et al.] -- 28. Properties and nano-observation of natural rubber with nanomatrix structure / Yoshimasa Yamamoto and Seiichi Kawahara.