Polyhydroxyalkonates (PHAs) are biopolymers that are produced by microorganisms under nutrient limiting conditions. These biopolymers can replace petrochemical plastics as they are fully biodegradable. An alternative source of organisms for production of PHA is marine algae. Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic algae can be used for this. The extraction from marine algae involves digestion of algal cells using sodium hypochlorite and dissolution of polymer in chloroform. The PHA is biocompatible, biodegradable, non-toxic and have plasticizing and encapsulation capacity. These properties make PHA one among the best polymer candidate for biomedical applications.

Keywords: Polyhydroxyalkanoates, micro algae, biocompatibility, biomedical applications