# Editorial: Biomacromolecule systems for enhanced therapeutic delivery in medical implants

Joao Henrique Lopes, Nicolas Tabary, Jacobo Hernandez-Montelongo

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Joao Henrique Lopes, Nicolas Tabary, Jacobo Hernandez-Montelongo. Editorial: Biomacromolecule systems for enhanced therapeutic delivery in medical implants. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2025, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 13, 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1700914. [https://lilloa.hal.science/hal-05314362](https://lilloa.hal.science/hal-05314362) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5514/6.13.05314362](https://doi.org/10.5514/6.13.05314362)

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OPEN ACCESS

EDITED AND REVIEWED BY
Candan Tamerler,
University of Kansas, United States

*CORRESPONDENCE
Jacobo Hernandez-Montelongo,
jacobo.hernandez@uct.cl

RECEIVED 07 September 2025

ACCEPTED 07 October 2025

PUBLISHED 13 October 2025

CITATION
Lopes JH, Tabary N and
Hernandez-Montelongo J (2025) Editorial:
Biomacromolecule systems for enhanced
therapeutic delivery in medical implants.
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 13:1700914.
doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1700914

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Montelongo. This is an open-access article
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# Editorial: Biomacromolecule systems for enhanced therapeutic delivery in medical implants

Joao Henrique Lopes¹, Nicolas Tabary² and
Jacobo Hernandez-Montelongo³*

¹Biomaterials and Biointerfaces Lab (BBLab), Department of Chemistry, Division of Fundamental Sciences (IEF), Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA), Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, ²Université Lille,CNRS, INRAE, Centrale Lille, UMR 8207 —UMET—Unité Matériaux et Transformations, Lille, France,
³Research Center for Bioproducts and Advanced Materials (BioMA), Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Universidad Católica de Temuco, Temuco, Chile

KEYWORDS

biomacromolecule, therapeutic delivery, localized delivery, medical implants, drug delivery

## Editorial on the Research Topic

Biomacromolecule systems for enhanced therapeutic delivery in
medical implants

The application of biomacromolecule systems in medical implants for the localized release of therapeutic agents is advancing rapidly. This progress is largely fueled by the rising global demand for sophisticated medical devices, particularly in the context of an aging population (Mastnak et al., 2022). Implants such as catheters, stents, and prosthetic joints are indispensable in modern healthcare, serving to replace, support, or enhance biological structures. Yet, surgical implantation is inherently associated with risks, including infection, impaired healing, and complications that may be worsened by immunosuppression linked to conditions such as AIDS, cancer, or diabetes. In this regard, biomacromolecules—large biomolecules including proteins, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides—have shown remarkable potential as carriers for controlled therapeutic delivery. These systems not only reduce postoperative risks but also improve therapeutic outcomes by enabling localized and sustained release of bioactive molecules (Lopes et al., 2022; Rumon et al., 2024). Nevertheless, significant challenges remain. Optimizing biocompatibility, ensuring long-term stability, and fine-tuning release kinetics are essential to fully unlock the clinical potential of these strategies.

Over the past decade, biomacromolecule delivery has evolved from classical polysaccharide and protein carriers into modular and hybrid platforms that merge biological recognition with materials engineering. Emerging modalities include peptide-polymer conjugates and amphiphilic peptides with antimicrobial or pro-regenerative functions; nucleic acid systems (siRNA/miRNA/DNA) condensed by cationic biopolymers for gene-level modulation; and protein-polymer hybrid depots that enable spatiotemporally controlled release of growth factors (Zhao et al., 2025). In parallel, bioinspired coatings and layer-by-layer assemblies on metallic and polymeric implants integrate polysaccharides (e.g., chitosan, hyaluronan), proteins, and catechol-functionalized polymers to improve adhesion, provide on-demand drug elution, and inhibit biofilm formation (Borges et al., 2024). Triggered release mechanisms—responsive to pH, enzymes, redox conditions, or mild external stimuli—are
now routine, while translational efforts increasingly focus on hemocompatibility, biofilm prevention, reproducibility, sterilization, and scalable manufacturing. Together, these developments position biomacromolecule systems as versatile interfaces capable of transforming passive devices into active therapeutic platforms.

The field continues to diversify. Hybrid peptide-polymer carriers are being designed for antimicrobial and immunomodulatory applications, coupling intrinsic bioactivity with enhanced stability (Cui et al., 2023). Self-assembling nanosystems—such as peptide amphiphiles, polypeptide micelles, and bioinspired films—are directly integrated onto implant surfaces to achieve contact killing, disrupt quorum sensing, and provide sustained drug release. Nucleic acid payloads (e.g., siRNA, CRISPR guides) are increasingly incorporated into polysaccharide and protein matrices to locally modulate inflammation and fibrosis (Manchanda et al., 2025). These strategies underscore the convergence of biomacromolecule science with surface and polymer engineering, defining a broad and dynamic landscape that frames this Research Topic.

Within this context, the present Research Topic features seven contributions that highlight both experimental and conceptual advances in biomacromolecule-assisted biomedical implants. The original research articles include those by Almuhayawi et al., González et al., and Pulido et al., complemented by reviews from Du et al., Sánchez-Trasviña et al., Calais et al., and Chen et al.. Collectively, these works illustrate strategies spanning drug-eluting coatings, antimicrobial macromolecules, bio-nano interfaces, and metallic implant surface engineering.

Altogether, this Research Topic emphasizes the transformative potential of biomacromolecule-based delivery systems in medical implants. By bridging fundamental science with clinical translation, the contributions presented here point to innovative approaches that may redefine the therapeutic role of implants in modern biomedicine. Beyond the specific examples covered, the scope also embraces peptide-polymer hybrids, self-assembled biointerfaces, and nucleic acid-enabled platforms that are shaping the next-generation of therapeutic implants.

## Author contributions

JL: Writing – review and editing. NT: Writing – review and editing. JH-M: Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing.

## References

Borges, J., Zeng, J., Liu, X. Q., Chang, H., Monge, C., Garot, C., et al. (2024). Recent developments in layer-by-layer assembly for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. *Adv. Healthc. Mater.* 13 (8), 2302713. doi:10.1002/adhm.202302713

Cui, Z., Crawford, M. A., Rumble, B. A., Krogh, M. M., Hughes, M. A., and Letteri, R. A. (2023). Antimicrobial peptide-poly (ethylene glycol) conjugates: connecting molecular architecture, solution properties, and functional performance. *ACS Polym. Au* 4 (1), 45–55. doi:10.1021/acspolymersau.3c00026

Lopes, J. H., Tabary, N., and Hernandez-Montelongo, J. (2022). Editorial: biomacromolecules systems applied to medical implants for the release of therapeutic agents. *Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.* 10, 910203. doi:10.3389/fbioe.2022.910203

Manchanda, D., Kumar, S., and Makhija, M. (2025). Polysaccharide-based delivery systems for CRISPR/Cas gene therapy: overcoming challenges and advancing

## Funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. This work was partly supported by Fondecyt Regular-Chile (Grant Number 1230553).

## Acknowledgments

The editors appreciate the contributions of all authors to this Research Topic, the constructive comments of all the reviewers, and the editorial support from Frontiers throughout the publication process.

## Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

## Generative AI statement

The author(s) declare that Generative AI was used in the creation of this manuscript. Generative AI was used solely to enhance English grammar. All content and interpretations are the sole responsibility of the authors.

Any alternative text (alt text) provided alongside figures in this article has been generated by Frontiers with the support of artificial intelligence and reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, including review by the authors wherever possible. If you identify any issues, please contact us.

## Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

pharmaceutical solutions. *Curr. Gene Ther.* 25. (in press). doi:10.2174/0115665232369121250307075817

Mastnak, T., Maver, U., and Finšgar, M. (2022). Addressing the needs of the rapidly aging society through the development of multifunctional bioactive coatings for orthopedic applications. *Int. J. Mol. Sci.* 23 (5), 2786. doi:10.3390/ijms23052786

Rumon, M. M. H., Akib, A. A., Sarkar, S. D., Khan, M. A. R., Uddin, M. M., Nasrin, D., et al. (2024). Polysaccharide-based hydrogels for advanced biomedical engineering applications. *ACS Polym. Au* 4 (6), 463–486. doi:10.1021/acspolymersau.4c00028

Zhao, H., Sun, J., Cheng, Y., Nie, S., and Li, W. (2025). Advances in peptide/polymer antimicrobial assemblies. *J. Mater. Chem. B* 13 (5), 1518–1530. doi:10.1039/D4TB02144D