A Review on Emergence of a Nature‐Inspired Polymer‐Polydopamine in Biomedicine

Biological structures have evolved throughout the millennia. Nature has been proactive with continual improvement to fine-tune the material properties resulting in optimization of the structure–function relationship. In keeping with this trend, mussels' capacity to stick to varied moist surfaces with sufficient strength to endure powerful ocean currents has aroused curiosity and research into the role of polydopamine (PDA). It is a flexible and organic substance that exhibits individual mechanical characteristics and excellent fixation to different substrate stuff in a humidified environment. It is shown to be structurally inert and has been proved to be harmless to living systems. This makes it ideal to be used as a coating material. It has spurred the usage of the substance as molecular glue due to its perfect adherence as seen in mussels. Conformal polydopamine coatings offer sole physical and chemical properties to various substrate stuff, such as polymers, metallic things, ceramics, and many more. This has been found to help accentuate the existing properties of the coated material. PDA is a highly malleable material that may be used as a nanocomposite, a nanoparticle, and as a coating for existing materials. The additional PDA properties in biocompatibility, biodegradability, anti-microbial activity, bone regeneration, and versatility make it a promising material that can be mapped into various fields of biomedicine. In this review, we focus upon key structural aspects and related properties of PDA and how they could potentially hold as a tool for multitude biomedical and dental applications. This article will go over some recent research on polydopamine advancements in the biomedical domain. The mechanism of polymerization is first discussed followed by the various forms of polydopamine nanostructures, as well as their latest uses in biological disciplines, particularly in drug administration. The review finally is concluded by a summary of the findings.