Biomedical Applications of Natural Proteins

This book is intended as a reference guide for graduate students, postgraduate students and researchers with a basic knowledge of protein chemistry who would like to know more about the biomedical applications of natural proteins to promote healthier lives.

The book is divided into ten chapters, each of which explains different natural proteins and their established biomedical applications. The first chapter extensively deals with protein based natural fibers and provides an overview of all protein based fibers currently available.  In turn, chapter two mainly focuses on the biomedical applications of a special class of proteins called Heat Shock Proteins; the biomedical applications of silkworm pupae proteins are dealt in chapter three. Chapter four examines an interesting use of Eri silk fibroin as a biomaterial for Tissue Engineering, while chapter five discusses the key experimental details involved in converting Tasar silk sericin into self-assembled nanoparticles. Chapter six offers brief descriptions of bioactive proteins with respect to their sources, synthesis and applications. Chapter seven is dedicated to Interleukine-8 and its role in human life, while chapter eight addresses the importance of natural proteins in infectious diseases. Chapter nine explores the issue of excess intake of dietary proteins and its adverse effects, and finally, chapter ten discusses the efficiency of drug delivery systems made up of gelatin nanocomposites.

The book is above all intended as a valuable resource for students and researchers alike, sparking their curiosity with regard to the applications of natural proteins and motivating them to focus their own energies on the discovery or identification of additional natural proteins for diverse biomedical uses.

Dr. Dhiraj Kumar obtained his Doctorate degree in Applied Animal Science from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University), Lucknow, India. He is presently working as Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University), Bilaspur (C.G.), India. He was the winner of young scientist award for his research contribution in the area of Zoology and he qualified National level tests such as CSIR-UGC-JRF/NET and ICAR-NET. He has published several research papers in National and International journals of repute and filed a patent for his new innovation. Recently he was awarded China Post Doctoral Fellowship in esteemed Medical University, China. Currently his research is focused in the area of biomedical science and Seri-metagenomics.

Dr. Rajesh R. Kundapur obtained his M.Sc. Degree in Biochemistry from Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka, India. To pursue his research career, he later joined National Centre for Cell Science, Pune. With a publication and some years of experience in molecular biology he later moved to Karnataka University for his Ph.D.  Dr. Rajesh Kundapur has an extensive work experience in the field of Protein Chemistry. He also has national and international publications to his credit. He has been awarded the prestigious Dr. D.S. Kothari Postdoctoral Fellowship and he is presently serving as research consultant at National AIDS Research Institute, PUNE. Through his research work he has contributed to the field of Silkworm Biology.