Biomass-derived carbon materials as sustainable platforms for advanced biomedical applications

Biomass-derived carbon materials (BCMs) are emerging as sustainable, high-performance alternatives to petroleum-based carbon in advanced biomedical technologies. This review integrates recent progress in the design, synthesis, and application of BCMs derived from diverse biomass precursors, including lignocellulosics, algae, and food or microbial wastes. Key conversion methods including pyrolysis, hydrothermal carbonization, activation, and templating are compared with respect to tunable porosity, heteroatom doping, and morphology control. Distinct BCM classes (activated carbon, carbon dots, graphene derivatives, nanotubes, nano-graphite, and fullerenes) are critically examined through structure, property, and functional relationships relevant to biocompatibility, biosafety, and performance. Characterization approaches including SEM/TEM, XRD, Raman, FTIR, BET are outlined with guidance on correlating surface features to biological response. In addition, applications are evaluated across toxin removal and hemoperfusion, targeted and controlled drug delivery, bioimaging and diagnostics, biosensing, tissue regeneration, antimicrobial coatings, and disinfection technologies. Sustainability perspectives emphasize waste-to-value conversion, circular bioeconomy integration, and life-cycle considerations. Key challenges include green and scalable synthesis, standardization of testing protocols, long-term biosafety assessment, and regulatory translation. Emerging directions including low-temperature solvent-lean synthesis, deterministic heteroatom engineering, interoperable data standards, and hybrid BCM composites with synergistic functionalities are proposed. By unifying insights from materials design, surface science, and biomedical translation, BCMs are positioned to underpin the next generation of safe, efficient, and sustainable medical technologies.