Since the packaging industry is one of the major contributors to pollution due to the extensive use of plastics, researchers have successfully developed green alternatives to plastics, among which carrageenan has been found to be a suitable replacement material. Carrageenan has been traditionally used as food additives in the form of thickening, stabilising, and emulsifying agents, while its other applications include cosmetics, agriculture, superabsorbent materials, energy storage, water remediation, and electrochemical applications. They are among the oldest and most popular natural polysaccharides as they are biocompatible, biodegradable, affordable, and safe. Carrageenan is one of the most promising and appealing polysaccharides generated from seaweeds, which is a renewable bioresource that possesses exceptional composite mechanical properties. Carrageenan is one such explored material that has been found to have great potential for applications in a variety of fields such as the food industry (both as a food ingredient and as plastic alternatives in food packaging) and biomedical fields (wound healing, drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine). In the present world where more concern is given to environmental protection, biopolymers have found immense importance due to their eco-friendly nature. Incorporation of nanofillers such as polysaccharide-based nanoparticles, nanoclays, bioceramic and mineral based nanoparticles, carbon dots and nanotubes, metal oxide nanoparticles, etc., along with their synergistic effects in hybrid bionanocomposites are also dealt with in this comprehensive review article. This review article mainly focuses on how the hydrophobicity of carrageenan bionanocomposites varies as a function of the type and refinement of carrageenan, and with the incorporation of additives including plasticisers, nanofillers, bioactive agents, etc. Considering these foregoing studies, this review is designed to have an in-depth understanding of diverse methods and techniques adopted for tuning the hydrophobic nature of carrageenan-based bionanocomposites, both via surface alterations or by changes made to their chemical structure and attached functional groups. Scientists around the globe are carrying out research works on venturing diverse methods to integrate hydrophobic nature into these polysaccharides without compromising their other functionalities. While this feature is advantageous in certain applications such as water remediation, wound healing, etc., the usefulness of this biopolymer is extremely limited when it comes to applications such as food packaging. Versatility of the anionic algal polysaccharide carrageenan has long been discussed and explored, especially for their affinity towards water molecules.
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