This review comprehensively explores natural polymer-based materials, focusing on their characteristics, applications, and innovations across different sectors, including medicine, the environment, energy, textiles, and construction. With increasing concern about resource depletion and pollution, biomaterials offer a sustainable alternative to fossil-derived products. The review highlights polysaccharide-based and protein-based biomaterials, as well as others, such as polyisoprene, rosin, and hyaluronic acid. Emphasis is laid on their compositions and attractive characteristics, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, and functional versatility. Moreover, the review deeply discusses the ability of natural polymers to form hydrogels, aerogels, films, nanocomposites, etc., enhanced by additives for innovative applications. Future development trends of biomaterials in biomedicine, sustainable materials, environmental biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing are also explored. Their growing potential in these sectors is driven by research advances in emerging technologies such as 3D bioprinting, nanotechnology, and hybrid material innovation, which are proven to enhance the performance, functionality, and scalability of biopolymers. The review suggests several strategies, including improvement in processing techniques and material engineering to overcome limitations associated with biomaterials, thereby reinforcing their suitability and role in a circular and sustainable economy.

This review comprehensively explores natural-based biomaterials, emphasizing their characteristics, applications and innovations across different sectors, including medical, environmental, energy, textile, and construction. With increasing concern about resource depletion and pollution, biomaterials have emerged as a sustainable alternative to fossil-derived products. In this review, polysaccharide-based biomaterials, protein-based biomaterials and others such as polyisoprene, rosin, and hyaluronic acid are explained, highlighting their compositions and attractive features including biocompatibility, biodegradability, and functional adaptability. Their ability to form hydrogel, aerogels, foams and nanocomposites expands their applications in drug delivery, wound healing, tissue engineering. Moreover, this review presents an in-depth explanation of future development trends of biomaterials highlighting their increasing potential in biomedicine, sustainable materials, environmental biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. Recent research on the integration of emerging technologies such as 3D bioprinting, nanotechnology and hybrid material innovation has proven to improve the structure, performance, functionality and scalability of biopolymers for the intended applications. Furthermore, improvement in biomaterial processing techniques in combination with other strategies are expected to address the challenges associated with biomaterials including low mechanical strength, variability and rapid degradation. These improvements will further increase the suitability of biomaterials and their role in a circular and sustainable economy.

Polymer-based dressings constitute an important class of macromolecular biomaterials enabling controlled drug delivery and enhanced wound healing performance. This review summarizes recent advances in the design, fabrication, and functionalization of polymer dressings, with emphasis on natural and synthetic polymer systems applied in biomedical topical and transdermal drug administration. Key material properties, including biocompatibility, mechanical stability, porosity, and degradation behavior, are discussed in relation to drug loading capacity and release kinetics. Current fabrication strategies, such as electrospinning, hydrogel formation, casting, and multilayer assembly, are critically evaluated with respect to structural control and scalability. Particular attention is given to antimicrobial and stimuli-responsive platforms capable of dynamic interaction with the wound microenvironment. Furthermore, challenges related to long-term stability, regulatory requirements, and clinical translation are addressed. By integrating recent experimental findings, this review highlights essential structure–function relationships governing polymer dressing performance and provides design guidelines for next-generation macromolecular topical and transdermal care systems with improved multifunctionality and clinical applicability.