Sustainable Biomaterials from Bioresources for Bone and Hard Tissue Regeneration

Natural biomaterials derived from renewable bioresources and biological waste have emerged as sustainable alternatives to conventional synthetic biomaterials for biomedical applications. Marine by-products, agricultural residues, and other biological resources represent abundant sources of naturally occurring polymers and bioceramics, including chitin, chitosan, collagen, silk fibroin, alginate, aragonite, coral-derived minerals, and calcium phosphates. Recent advances in environmentally friendly extraction and processing have enabled the production of high-quality biomaterials with the biocompatibility, bioactivity, and physicochemical properties needed for tissue regeneration. Beyond reducing the environmental burden of waste disposal, these approaches support circular bioeconomy principles by transforming underutilised bioresources into high-value biomedical materials.

This Research Topic focuses on how sustainably sourced natural biomaterials can be designed and validated for bone and hard tissue regeneration, where the demand for environmentally responsible alternatives to conventional grafts and synthetic ceramics is growing fastest. Rather than treating green processing and biological performance as separate stories, the collection asks contributors to connect them: to show how the origin and environmentally friendly processing of a biomaterial shape its structure and properties, and how those properties translate into biological function in hard tissue repair.

We particularly welcome studies that establish clear links across the full chain: bioresource origin and green extraction, physicochemical and structural characterisation, and biological performance in bone and hard tissue regeneration. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

o Green extraction, purification, and processing of natural polymers and bioceramics from marine, agricultural, and other biological waste streams
o Structure–property–function relationships governing biological and regenerative performance
o Scaffold and composite design for bone and hard tissue engineering
o Biomaterial–cell interactions, bioactivity, mineralisation, and osteogenic response
o Biodegradation behaviour and its effect on tissue healing
o Translational advances moving renewable biomaterials from laboratory research toward biomedical application

To maintain a cohesive scientific focus, submissions must include both physicochemical/structural characterisation and biological or biomedical evaluation relevant to tissue regeneration. Studies limited to extraction, processing, or environmental performance without biological or biomedical validation, and work whose primary emphasis is environmental science rather than biomaterials, fall outside the scope of this collection.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Sustainable biomaterials ; Bioresources ; Green extraction ; Natural biomaterials Chitin ; Chitosan ; Calcium phosphate ; Aragonite ; Bone regeneration ; Tissue regeneration ; Biomaterials characterization ; Circular bioeconomy

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.