Facile production of seaweed-based biomaterials with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities

New seaweed-based biomaterials have been prepared using a simple method based on the selective dissolution in trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) of specific polymers and bioactive substances from red, green, and brown seaweeds. Depending on the seaweed's origin, the properties were found to be different, especially the mechanical ones. Furthermore, the samples were fully biodegradable in seawater in one month. Moreover, the antioxidant capacity of the biomaterials was highly increased respect to the pristine materials, demonstrating a selective extraction during the process of solubilization. Finally, biocompatibility and anti-inflammatory experiments demonstrated the non-toxicity of the biomaterials prepared from brown seaweed and a similar anti-inflammatory effect to commercial available drugs, confirming the potential application of the prepared biomaterials for the fabrication of biomedical devices.