Peptides as biopolymers-past, present, and future

Peptides from various sources off late have been comprehensively studied as promising biomaterials owing to their significantly different chemical, physical, and biological characteristics. Peptide-based biomaterials are thoroughly investigated using molecular engineering and self-assembling techniques. This chapter focuses on the underlying principles and applications of peptide-based biomaterials, the present research progress, and possible future directions. Peptide-based biopolymers can be chemically generated and can also comprise of genetically coded peptides, such as poly(amino acids), elastinlike polypeptides, and biopolymers with repeating peptide signatures. Currently, there are wide ranging applications of these biopolymers especially in the biomedical, and the food industries like protein purification, drug delivery, tissue engineering, and newer applications are concurrently being explored.