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.

Fertilizer inefficiencies caused by uncontrolled and rapid nutrient release pose serious environmental threats and economic losses. Adsorption of nutrients in carriers such as clinoptilolite zeolite (CZ) has been proven to be effective in minimizing environmental pollution and improving the duration of nutrient availability in soil. In this study, a complete fertilizer was formulated via the batch impregnation of the combination of nutrient sources, such as urea, calcium hydroxyapatite (CaHAp), and muriate of potash (MoP), in CZ carrier in a 1:1 ratio. Carrier pre-treatment was done by washing CZ with deionized water and ethanol, followed by calcination at 600 °C for 4 hours. The process has 86.92% recovery and increased the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the carrier from 41.30 cmol⁽⁺⁾/kg soil to 47.7630 cmol⁽⁺⁾/kg soil. The effect of mixture factors (% Urea : % CaHAp : % MoP ratio) and process factors (mixing time and sonication time) on the total nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) content was investigated using an Optimal (Combined Mixture) Experimental Design. Statistical analysis showed the direct effect of the mixture factors and the insignificant effect of the process factors on the said responses. The optimum conditions obtained via numerical optimization is as follows: (1) 50 : 23.99 : 14.61 : 11.39 (% PCZ : % Urea : % CaHAp : % MoP) ratio, (2) mixing time of 158.57 minutes, and (3) sonication time of 30 minutes. This resulted to a fertilizer with a total N, P, and K content of 4.65 % 2.76 %, and 5.42 %, respectively. Moreover, it has about 1.96 % bound N, 0.28 % bound P, and 2.93 % bound K due to a successful adsorption process. The adsorption process has a high fertilizer yield of 96.49 %. DLS analysis revealed that the optimized product has an average particle size of 4105.8 nm; thus, it cannot be characterized as a nanofertilizer. Cost analysis showed that the formulated complete fertilizer is priced at Php 465.82 per kilogram, which is more expensive than the 14-14-14 conventional fertilizer due to higher cost of production. However, the possible slow/controlled release property of the NPK-PCZ fertilizer could offset the high price due to longer availability of nutrients in soil. As such, this could mean lower rate of fertilizer application thus allowing to save up in resources and manpower.