Engineering Functional Polysaccharide Biomaterials: How Modification Strategies Shape Biological Performance

Polysaccharides have emerged as versatile building blocks for the design of advanced biomaterials owing to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, structural diversity, and broad chemical tunability. Over the past decade, numerous engineering strategies have been developed to tailor their physicochemical properties and expand their use in biomedical applications. Although several comprehensive reviews have summarized chemical modification methods, specific classes of polysaccharides, or individual biomedical applications, fewer studies have examined how different engineering strategies collectively influence the biological performance of polysaccharide biomaterials. This review provides an integrated overview of the principal approaches used to engineer polysaccharide-based biomaterials, including chemical functionalization, surface modification, biofunctionalization, and combined engineering strategies. Particular attention is given to the relationship between material design and biological response, discussing how these strategies influence key interactions such as protein adsorption, cell adhesion and proliferation, antimicrobial activity, immunomodulation, and tissue integration. Representative examples from hydrogels, films, coatings, nanoparticles, and scaffolds are presented to illustrate how engineering approaches can be adapted to achieve specific biological functions across different biomedical applications.