eChapters

Incentives are a powerful stimulus to transfer of technology. They can encourage researchers to get their results to market, a new career path for many of them. They can create a culture that attracts and retains entrepreneurial staff, scientists, students and technology transfer professionals (TTPs) that view the university as a career path and a vehicle for making a contribution to society. Working in a pro-entrepreneurship team of colleagues can also lead to getting people to think in terms of making a connection between their work and its application. Incentives can be short-term or long-term in nature, and can be tailored to individual or collective requirements. As it is likely to be challenging for universities to design incentives that cater to every researcher’s or TTP’s desire, they can design incentive programs to cater to various aspects of human. Nature.
12.1 Why incentives matter in this ecosystem
Incentives can be either financial and non-financial. These are needed to ensure that researchers and TTPs remain motivated, aligned with institutional goals, and committed to the long-term process of technology transfer and commercialization. Incentive programs serve several important purposes:
• Motivation: Incentives energize individuals to pursue innovation and commercialization, often over long- and uncertain-time horizons.
• Retention: By offering recognition, rewards, and career advancement opportunities, institutions can retain high-performing researchers and skilled TTPs.
• Alignment: Well-designed incentives ensure that the personal goals of stakeholders align with institutional and societal objectives.

A TTO fills the important intermediary position of linking research institution with industry so that innovations and new ideas can reach market. To be able to facilitate that effectively, the institutions must have well-defined R&D policies that include Sponsored R&D, Collaborative R&D, and Grant-in-Aid R&D. These ensure that the research remains properly managed, regulatory compliance assured and aligned with institutional priorities. This chapter has discussed about key policies that can help in successful operation of TTO while aligning institution’s mission and interests Various core policies that help in successful technology transfer include:
• Intellectual property policy
• Technology transfer policy
• Revenue sharing policy
• Startup/Spinout/Venture creation policy
• Conflict of interest/Conflict of commitment policy
Each policy has specific objectives. These policies collectively ensure a clear and consistent framework for technology commercialization.
11.1 Intellectual property policy
An IP policy is a formal document that provides guidelines for managing IP by an organisation. A strong IP policy build trust by ensuring efficiency and transparency. Other benefits of IP policy includes creation of environment to encourage innovation and commercialisation of IP. It also lays foundation to set out the rules for public-private partnerships while addressing issues among various stakeholders and ensures compliance. IP Policy is not law, but a proposed course of action.

Performance metrics and indicators
Traditionally, in the past, TTOs’ performance was measured in monetary terms, such as universities’ revenues derived through commercialization. The methodology, however, is prone to shortcomings, in light of the fact that various TTOs do not receive significant amounts of financial proceeds through their technology transfers. In addition, relying on income does not depict a TTO’s true potential, in light of the fact that it does not account for the total range of outputs of research and commercialization opportunities. Recognizing these limitations, academics have found innovative ways to measure TTO efficiency, such as monetary and non-monetary indicators. Financial indicators typically entail measurable outcomes such as number of signed licenses, income from licenses, royalties collected, equity income, and number of spin-offs or startups created. These are actual gauges of the economic returns from commercialization efforts, and in the majority of instances are used in the context of benchmarking the performance of a TTO in a comparative context, perhaps against peer institutions or industry averages. Non-financial indicators consist of royalty distributions to academics, having an integral role in encouraging academics to participate in commercialisation activity. By incorporating monetary and non-financial metrics, universities might have an enhanced, comprehensive evaluation system for their TTOs. Such evaluation is sure to ensure assessment extends beyond short-run monetary metrics and looks to incorporate several organization, institutional, and research-oriented determinants in driving successful technology transfer.

A TTO needs a planned budget of five years to sustain it in the long term. This involves budgeting the infrastructure, manpower, research, and outreach programs. The budgetary needs of a TTO will be based on the size and scope of the TTO and the maturity of the parent institution it caters to. The initial years will be focused on capacity development, the appointment of experts, and the establishment of processes of intellectual property management. The mature TTO will generate income through the returns of the licensing agreements and the collaborative efforts with the industry. Nevertheless, external funding through grants and government schemes plays a vital part, particularly in the initial years. The planned budget ensures long-term stability and development of the TTO.
9.1 Budgetary heads
9.1.1 Operational expenditure
Operational expenditure refers to the ongoing costs incurred by a TTO to maintain its day-to-day operations. This includes the cost of maintaining the office, including rent, power and utility bills, computer and network infrastructure, patent management cost, and administration charges. The filing and legal charges also fall within this category. The overheads will be a heavy burden if not planned with finances properly. A TTO has to be provided with a properly planned operational budget that covers the daily operational expenses. The operational expenses help the office perform effectively, sustain the employees, and effectively manage IP. The operational expenses that the budget normally covers include:

8.1 Key legal statutes and regulatory foundations
Various policy measures were also undertaken by the Government of India in due course of time. The Government of India enacted four science policies after gaining independence, i.e. Scientific Policy Resolution (1958), Technology Policy Statement (1983), Science and Technology Policy (2003) and Science Technology and Innovation Policy (2013). The 1983 Technology Policy Statement possessed a simple goal of creating indigenous technology and boosting efficient absorption and adaptation of imported technologies suited to the nation’s priorities and. The Technology Policy Statement of 1983 was followed up through the establishment of the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), an autonomous organization entirely owned by the Government of India under the Department of Science and Technology during 1988. TIFAC also offers some funding and supports development and commercialization of technologies through the home-grown technology scheme, among its other operations. The Technology Development Board Act (1995) was also a significant policy move of the government in the same direction. Also in recent times, the Government of India also unveiled its own National IPR Policy 2016 with the motto cum slogan “Creative India, Innovative India”. In addition, the policy is aligned to a number of other schemes of the Indian Government like “Make in India”, “Atal Innovation Mission”, “Start-Up India” and “Stand-Up India”, all aimed at encouraging creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship in the nation.

In today’s innovation driven economies, turning a great idea or new technology into something investors want to fund takes careful planning. This process is called investor readiness. which means making sure the idea works, has a market, and is presented in a way that makes investors feel confident. Therefore, Investor readiness means the preparedness of an innovation to attract and secure investment from potential investors. It has all the essential parameters in place that an investor would evaluate before deciding to invest. For inventors, this means showcasing innovation’s business potential, potential for growth, and the capability to provide a return on investment. Understanding investor readiness is important because it directly influences scalability and growth of invention. Even the most innovative ideas can struggle to find the financial benefits without showcasing business potential.
Why it is important to discuss investor readiness
Investor readiness is the state in which a technology, its value proposition, and its founding team are significantly prepared to engage with securing funding from potential investors. Without investor readiness, even high-potential innovations may fail to reach the market due to gaps in business clarity, legal assurance, or team maturity. TTOs play an important role in this process by acting as intermediaries between inventor and investors. Modern day TTOs are more inclined to prepare technologies and associated teams to attract investment. This expanded mandate of TTOs and brought in investor readiness. It requires a wellstructured approach focused on aligning academic innovations with investor expectations. TTOs help in creating this readiness by guiding researchers through commercial pathways, derisking technologies, and translating technical advancements into investment suitable.

Strategic partnerships and productive outreach play a crucial role for new technologies to successfully reach the market, drive growth, and strengthen a country’s global competitiveness, Outreach programs have various benefits, ranging from technology transfer awareness, communication of stakeholders, industry, government, to academy partnership promotions. These efforts help in establishing connections, communicating opportunities, and encouraging active engagement from key stakeholders. Outreach activities can be performed under two broad categories:
1. Written communication includes all communication which can be viewed, shared, or made accessible for a set of people in a passive manner. This includes reports, newsletters, guidance, and online content which provide insights of worth for stakeholders.
2. Human outreach includes all direct communication like c face-to-face or verbal form communication it included conferences, conventions, workshops, seminars and personal communication with industry leaders.
The type of outreach creates stronger, more personal connections. An effective outreach strategy usually combines both human and written outreach efforts. By following this strategy TTOs can expand and strengthen partnerships, and make it easier for research-led innovations to get transition from lab to market more effectively. This chapter explores key outreach models, strategic networking approaches, and proven practices for building impactful partnerships in technology transfer.

5.1 Technology readiness levels- Introduction
Technology readiness levels (TRLs) is measurement of the maturity level of a particular technology. These are based on a scale from 1 to 9, with 9 being the most mature technology. It is a map that shows whether a given technology is in a conceptual state or can be used in real-world applications and ensures innovations are thoroughly tested before being applied on a large scale. The TRL scale uses a set of questions designed to measure progress of a technology toward maturity. They help in reducing risks and improving efficiency. TRLs were initially designed in the 1970s for use by NASA to assess how prepared a technology was for space missions. Technology for space travel is always extremely sophisticated and with a high degree of risk. NASA required a system to assess systematically whether or not a new technology was ready to implement. By breaking down development into different levels, NASA was able to provide informed decisions on which innovations were ready to incorporate (figure 12). In due course, TRL proved to be so effective that other industries began to use it. Other entities like the European Space Agency (ESA), U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), BIRAC, DRDO and many other agencies have taken , to using TRL to guide R&D strategies. TRL helps in simplifying development, decreasing risks, and maximizing resource utilization.

4.1 Phases of technology transfer
To translate laboratory research into market ready product, it is important to understand steps or phases involved in this technology transfer process. The process typically includes six main phases, each with a different role (figure 9).
4.1.1 Research
Technology transfer begins with research, the critical stage of exploring and discovering novel knowledge, technologies, or innovations that may have potential commercial applications. The research phase can occur in academic institutions, research organizations, or private sector companies, often funded by public or private sources. Thorough research ensures that the technologies being transitioned are scientifically and technically robust, thereby increasing their potential for market success. Therefore, the research phase involves creating and evaluating new ideas, confirming their feasibility, and identifying IP prospects, all of which are key components of TT success.
4.1.2 Innovation disclosure
Innovation disclosure is the first formal step where the innovation is reported to the appropriate TTO or IP management team. This process ensures that the institution or organization recognizes the innovation and evaluates its potential for protection and commercialization. It includes following information:

The success of a TTO relies on a systematic approach encircling factors like assessment, valuation, marketing, negotiation, and post-transfer management (fi gure 8). This chapter covers the activities that are essential for the effective functioning of a TTO. Other activies Technology Assessement /Valuation Financial Managemnt Major Activities of technology transfer office Commercialization IP Management Fostering Innovation
Fig 8: Various activities of TTOs.
3.1 Technology assessment - A pillar of innovation commercialization
The process of transitioning an innovative technology to commercial reality requires a stringent and formal process known as technology assessment. This early stage is crucial as it determines the viability of an invention by analysing practicability of the invention as well as its uniqueness and the likelihood of it being adopted in the target markets. In the absence of this preliminary examination, the chance of technology’s potential being mismatched to the market can arise.
a) Scientific merit and technical feasibility
A key benchmark in assessing technologies involves the identification of
scientific validity and technical performance. An innovation’s viability depends on the fact that it complies with good scientific practice or the innovative application of a new paradigm that has empirically confirmable validity. It is important to determine whether the invention’s underlying mechanism can be reliably proven through established scientific practice. A working prototype allows for empirical testing in different conditions and serves as proof of practical application. In addition to that, scalability has to be tested critically. It often happens that innovations perform well in a controlled laboratory setting but lose efficiency or cost-effectiveness in the case of mass production. The viability of the implementation on a grand scale becomes a core concern in this phase of the evaluation.

The establishment of a technology transfer office is an important and complex process for an organization. It needs careful planning to ensure its long-term sustainability. Before establishing a TTO, it is essential to evaluate whether institution’s core mission includes research commercialization, and if the volume and quality of its research output justify the need for an inhouse TTO. For institutions that may not meet all criteria, those institutions can collaborate or outsource for TTO services. It is also important to decide about its operational scope, funding, management, and for what kind of issues the office should develop a policy. There is no “right” way to set up a TTO, but successful TTO does require considering some key issues. This chapter outlines key steps and considerations for establishing a TTO. It also explains what physical infrastructures are needed, manpower, outlines the responsibilities and powers of TTOs.
2.1 Evaluating the need for a TTO
Establishing a TTO is an important step for any research focused organization. But before initiating a planning process for a new TTO, the organization must review its relevance by considering a few fundamental points:
Key considerations for institutions
1. Is institution’s mission focused on “research commercialization” If an institute’s primary mission is education, or it does not support research it might not be justified to create a TTO. For such institutions, it usually makes better sense to seek alternative solutions to the occasional technology transfer without the expense of a formal office. But institutions with strong research commercialization focus, a TTO has the ability to contribute meaningfully to the mission. The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), USA has identified following key motivations for initiating academic technology transfer:

Introduction
Understanding the concepts of technology transfer, licensing, and commercialization is crucial as it plays an important role in understanding how scientific discoveries leads to generation of new technologies further making them the impactful solutions that benefit industries and society. In the context of Indian HEIs, this especially important because a large volume of impactful research often remains underutilized due to limited commercialization channels. This chapter explains the terminology, essential components of technology transfer, outlines its significance for the innovation ecosystem. It also outlines the evolution of India’s technology transfer ecosystem, and emphasizes while understanding its potential to boost India’s economy, encourage entrepreneurship, and strengthen global competitiveness. From initial idea to a market-ready product is complex and multiphased process. The stepwise process is shown in Figure 1. It highlights a structured pathway consisting of five core phases: Idea/Concept, Technology development, Intellectual Property (IP) rights, Technology transfer, and Technology commercialisation.
Phase 1: Idea/Concept stage
This process of technology transfer starts with the Idea/Concept phase, where an invention is created. Each phase plays an important role in transforming raw scientific knowledge into innovative solutions that benefit society and generate economic value. In this phase breakthrough ideas emerge, within labs. Researchers explore and develop initial proof-of-concept or prototypes to validate their ideas. At this stage, the focus is primarily on knowledge creation rather than commercialization. This pathway of technology transition is summarized in Figure 1.

Total Intravenous Anaesthesia
Maintenance of anaesthesia, conventionally, is done either with inhalants, or as intermittent boli of injectable anaesthetics. The pharmacological complexity of the uptake and elimination of inhalant anaesthetic agents, and the need of technical and functional knowhow, of inhalant anaesthesia machine, either restricts its use in majority clinical practice, or is not used in an ideal manner. Injectable anaesthetic drugs as intermittent boli “as and when needed” is the practice by majority practitioners for maintenance of anaesthesia. Intermittent bolus injections of anaesthetic drugs creates intermittent peaks of anaesthesia and thereby increased side effects due to high doses. Instead, a continuous rate infusion of the anaesthetic drugs, in smaller quantities is employed in TIVA, providing balanced anaesthetic maintenance. These drugs act through different pathways, providing analgesia, muscle relaxation and unconsciousness, in a synergistic manner. TIVA is thus a technique in which anaesthesia is maintained solely through the use of intravenous drugs, without reliance on inhaled anaesthetics (Kennedy, 2016). Total intravenous anaesthesia is commonly achieved using a combination of sedative-hypnotics, analgesics and even muscle relaxation drugs, often administered via continuous rate infusion (CRI) to maintain stable drug levels (Verma et al., 2020). The key advantage of TIVA is that it provide stable haemodynamics because it maintains the sympathetic tone well. Also, this procedure promises less environmental contamination avoiding exposure to anaesthetic gas in the operating rooms. TIVA is emerging as a popular option in a range of surgical procedures due to its benefits in patient comfort, recovery, and control over anaesthesia depth. Few examples of anaesthetic cocktails for total intravenous anaesthesia in dogs through constant rate infusion are mentioned below. Easy understanding on how to calculate and prepare CRI is mentioned later.
1. Dexmedetomidine (2 mcg/kg/hr), midazolam (3 mcg/kg/min), lignocaine (50 mcg/kg/min) and ketamine (40 mcg/kg/min) as a cocktail intravenous infusion in normal saline. Anaesthesia is induced by intramuscular administration of a cocktail of DBMK mentioned in earlier chapter, followed by an intravenous loading dose of lignocaine at the rate of 2 mg/kg prior to the cocktail intravenous infusion (Verma et al., 2020).
2. Xylazine (1 mg/kg/hr), midazolam (3 mcg/kg/min), lignocaine (50 mcg/kg/ min) and ketamine (40 mcg/kg/min) as a cocktail intravenous infusion in

Combination of an opioid (butorphanol/buprenorphine) and an alpha-2 agonist (xylazine/dexmedetomidine) along with an NMDA antagonist and benzodiazepine (tiletamine-zolazepam or ketamine-midazolam) will make up a balanced anaesthetic cocktail. Examples for balanced anaesthetic cocktails are xylazine/dexmedetomidine-butorphanol-midazolam-ketamine and butorphanol/ buprenorphine-tiletamine zolazepam-dexmedetomidine/xylazine (Ko, 2013; Cagle et al., 2017; Sooryadas et al., 2019; Verma et al., 2020). The latter ones are costly due to the tiletamine-zolazepam and dexmedetomidine in them, while the former ones are cost effective alternatives.
Xylazine/Dexmedetomidine-Butorphanol-Midazolam-Ketamine (XBMK/DBMK) Anaesthetic Cocktail
The preparation can be made by drawing 0.1 ml/kg of ketamine (50 mg/ml presentation) along with 0.1 to 0.2 ml/kg of the xylazine-butorphanol-midazolam (XBM) or dexmedetomidine-butorphanol-midazolam (DBM) sedative cocktail in a single syringe. For intravenous administration, 0.1 ml/kg each of ketamine and the sedative cocktail is to be chosen, while for intramuscular administration 0.1 ml/kg of ketamine and 0.2 ml/kg of the sedative cocktail is preferred. The volume of the cocktail that needs to be administered intramuscularly will be larger by 0.1 ml/kg when compared to the tiletamine-zolazepam based anaesthetic cocktails. Anticholinergic premedication is preferred prior to administration of anaesthetic cocktail containing xylazine (Nesgash et al., 2016), particularly if given intravenously. The XBMK/DBMK anaesthetic cocktails will induce anaesthesia in a few minutes, which last for 20 to 40 minutes (Ko, 2013; Verma et al., 2019; Verma et al., 2020). Intravenous administration of the anaesthetic cocktail provides shorter duration of surgical plane of anaesthesia. When administered as said above, the combination provides xylazine @ 0.2 - 0.4 mg/kg or dexmedetomidine @ 2.5 - 5 mcg/kg, butorphanol @ 0.1 - 0.2 mg/kg, midazolam @ 0.125 - 0.25 mg/kg and ketamine @ 5 mg/kg body weight which is as per their recommended doses when given in combination (Verma et al., 2019; Verma et al., 2020).

Ketamine and Propofol - “Ketofol”
“Ketofol’’ is a 1:1 (w:w) combination of ketamine and propofol (Taboada and Leece, 2014; Thejasree et al., 2018). The advantages of using both ketamine and propofol in combination (Ketofol) include analgesia, rapid recovery, preservation of airways and maintenance of spontaneous respiration and haemodynamic stability (Saeed, 2011). The admixture has benefits of both drugs, while reducing the side effects of the individual drugs when administered alone (Amornyotin, 2014; Lee and Lee, 2016; Mirfazaelian et al., 2016). Propofol-induced respiratory depression is less with the admixture, while analgesia and cardiorespiratory functions are good due to ketamine (Amornyotin, 2014; Mirfazaelian et al., 2016). Since the adverse effects are dose dependent, the combination helps reduce the dose of the individual drug needed to cause the desired anaesthetic effects. This combination of ketamine and propofol can be used to induce anaesthesia following sedation with any of the previously mentioned balanced sedative cocktails. Induction should be “titrated to effect” based on the depth of sedation achieved from the administration of the balanced sedative cocktails.
Thiopentone and Propofol - “Thio-propofol”
Thio-propofol is a 1:1 vol:vol mixture of 2.5% thiopentone and 1% propofol (Ko et al., 1999; Evans et al., 2002; Larisa et al., 2008). Since the mechanisms of action of propofol and thiopentone are similar, the mixture provides an additive hypnotic interaction (Vinik et al., 1999) and behaves in-between to that of the

The drug conventionally used for sedation is xylazine, which is an alpha-2 agonist (Dugdale, 2010; Rankin, 2015). Dexmedetomidine is the latest drug of the same class used for sedation, and is more specific to alpha2 receptors than xylazine (Ishyama et al., 1995). Doses of 1-2 mg per kg body weight of xylazine (Hall and Clarke, 2001) and upto 20 mcg per kg body weight of dexmedetomidine (Ko, 2013) are required for sedation when used alone (Hall and Clarke, 2001; Rankin, 2015). Similar degrees of sedation could still be achieved at lower doses of xylazine (0.2 to 0.4 mg per kg body weight) and dexmedetomidine (2.5 to 5 mcg per kg) if administered in combination with any opioid drug like hydromorphone / oxymorphone / fentanyl / buprenorphine / butorphanol / nalbuphine / tramadol at their usual doses (Hunt et al., 2013). Another drug - acepromazine, which is a phenothiazine tranquiliser, is used at its doses of 0.01 to 0.05 mg/kg combined with an opioid for achieving sedation (Smith et al., 2001; Dugdale, 2020; Ko, 2013). Combination of an opioid with either a phenothiazine tranquiliser or an alpha2 agonist sedative drug provides neurolept anaesthesia/analgesia (Dugdale, 2020; Rankin, 2015). An anticholinergic drug - glycopyrrolate is administered in combination with acepromazine and opioid to prevent bradycardia (Dyson and James-Davies, 1999). Anticholinergics are generally not recommended with sedative cocktails containing dexmedetomidine, but preferred with sedative cocktails containing xylazine (Congdon et al., 2011; Billah et al., 2017). If sedation is to be achieved with acepromazine alone, higher doses need to be administered where there will be an increase in its dose dependent side effects, and hence not preferred (Simon and Steagall, 2020). Benzodiazepines are another class of sedative drugs, which generally doesn’t provide predictable sedation in animals. Paradoxical excitement is caused in healthy adults when these drugs are used alone (Herron et al., 2008). Predictable sedation is achieved when these drugs are administered in combination with any opioids (KuKanich and Wiese, 2015). Also, benzodiazepines can be combined with an alpha2-opioid combination to enhance the overall sedation (Maze et al., 1992). Various balanced sedative cocktails prepared with the drugs available for a veterinary practitioner in India, are presented. The balanced sedative cocktails are prepared with either

The yesteryear concept of employing one or two acclaimed anaesthetic drugs to produce sedation and general anaesthesia is now switching over to the era of balanced sedation and balanced anaesthesia. The theory of balanced anaesthesia entails achieving the state of general anaesthesia with the proportionate administration of a mixture of small amounts of several neuronal depressant drugs which summates the advantages of the individual drugs but not their disadvantages (Bettschart-Wolfensberger and Larenza, 2007). Knowledge about balanced anesthesia and targeted effects of drugs on neuronal pathways has started to influence veterinary anaesthetists worldwide. But there are many constraints for a vast majority of veterinary practitioners in India to follow this emerging modality of anaesthetic practice. It is almost impractical for most of them to get the assistance of a veterinary anaesthesiologist every time. So they experience complexities to deal with the pharmacological dosing of multiple component drugs of balanced anaesthetic protocols. Memorising the doses and calculating the volume of injection of multiple component drugs where the doses of some drugs has to be calculated in milligram per kilogram body weight while others have to be calculated in microgram per kilogram body weight becomes a cumbersome task for the practitioner. Moreover, many of these anaesthetic drugs are available in ampoules, and hence multiple ampoules have to be broken for every single surgery; consuming a lot of time. Wastage of the leftover anaesthetic in opened ampoules is another concern. Unavailability of some drugs at some areas is another issue the practitioner faces. These challenges constrain the practitioner from practicing balanced anaesthesia and most of them lean on the verily familiar conventional anaesthetic protocol, based exclusively on one or two frequently used drugs, for almost all the surgical procedures of varying depth. Since only one or two anaesthetic drugs are involved in the protocol, the drugs have to be used at its upper limit of pharmacological doses to achieve the desired endpoints of anaesthesia. This will increase the probable risk of undesired side effects of these drugs. The challenges that restrict our practitioners from advancing beyond the era of sole reliance on one or two drugs for producing the state of anaesthesia has to be addressed and measures to resolve these issues have to be evolved to promote and equip our veterinary practitioners to practice the safer technique of balanced anaesthesia. Encompassing these objectives, and based on evidence and

1. Introduction
Organic polymers are large, chain-like molecules made up of repeating structural units (monomers) that are primarily carbon-based. These polymers are found both in nature and can be synthesized in labs, and they form the basis of many materials we use daily. Here are some main types of organic polymers (Harris, F. W., 1981).
2. Natural Organic Polymers
These are polymers found in nature. Examples include:
• Proteins: Polymers made up of amino acid monomers, serving as the building blocks for tissues and enzymes in organisms.
• Nucleic Acids: DNA and RNA, which are composed of nucleotide monomers, store genetic information in cells.
• Polysaccharides: Carbohydrate polymers like cellulose (found in plant cell walls), starch (energy storage in plants), and glycogen (energy storage in animals).
• Natural Rubber: Derived from latex in plants, primarily from the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis).
3. Synthetic Organic Polymers
These are human-made polymers produced through chemical synthesis.
Common examples include:
• Polyethylene: A plastic used in bags and containers, made from ethylene monomers.
• Polystyrene: Used in packaging, insulation, and disposable cutlery, made from styrene monomers.
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): A durable polymer used in pipes, cables, and construction, made from vinyl chloride monomers.
• Nylon and Polyester: Common synthetic fi bers used in textiles.

Introduction 
Polymers are mostly distinguished from metals by their property of inability to conduct electricity. Because of the insulating properties, polymers find advantages for many applications of plastics. However with the discovery of poly sulphur nitride [(SN)x], which acts as super-conductor at low temperature the evolution of conducting polymers began in 1975. After two years the linear conjugated organic polymer polyacetylene treated with gaseous bromine or Iodine found to have metallic properties. Some examples of conducting polymers are polyaniline, polypyrrole and polythiophene etc. Conducting polymers are organic polymer, possesses the magnetic, electronic, electrical properties, mechanical properties, and processibility etc. These properties are most commonly related to the conventional polymer. The transformation of polymer from insulator to conductor is called doping. For example: the effect of conductivity due to the absorption of I2 into polyacetylene is analogous to the effect of doping of arsenic, boron, and phosphorus into silicon to make semiconductor. Doping and undoping can be achieved in conducting polymers by an alternate route of electrochemical oxidation and reduction. Doping includes either the removal of electrons from or addition of electron to the conjugated backbone of conducting polymers. Doping is therefore of two types: Oxidative doping (p-type): In this case, the polymer backbone carries a positive charge due to removal of an electron by ordinary oxidation. Examples of p-doped conductive polymers are polyacetylene, polyaniline, polypyrroles etc. The p-doping causes oxidation of the polymer backbone to form cations. When these cations move along the polymer backbone in an electrical field, the polymer is electrically conductive. Reductive doping (n-type): the polymer backbone acquires negative charge by receiving electrons. Ex: Polyacetylene can be n-doped by alkali metals but these are less explored because they are very much sensitive towards atmospheric air than specific undoped type polymer. According to the principle of electroneutrality, doped conducting polymer needs counter ion to balance the opposite charges in the polymer backbone. These counterions are called dopant. Some common examples of dopants are usually small anions e.g. Cl-, I-, and SO4 2-. However poly-electrolyte like p-toluene sulphonic acid can act as the dopant. The process by which the doped polymer loses its charges and becomes an insulator is called undoping. For a doped conducting polymer with isolated small anions as dopants, undoping is accompanied by the loss of the dopant. Undoping causes the conductive polymer to lose its electrical conductivity and useful optical properties.

1. Introduction 
Among the innumerable gifts of nature, plants, animals and minerals have been the basis of treatment of human diseases. Generally it is either of prebiotic origin or originating from microbes, plants or animal sources. More likely they are the natural expression of the increase in complexity of organisms. Beside animals, plants are one of the most important sources of natural products. From the very beginning of their existence, man has acquainted himself with plants and used them in a variety of ways throughout the ages. In search of food and to cope successfully with human sufferings, ancient man began to distinguish those plants suitable for nutritional purposes from others with definitive therapeutic action. Some plants are widely used as food while others showed beneficial effects against various human sufferings such as injuries and diseases. This relationship has grown between plants and man, and many plants have come to be used as drugs. The use of plant as a drug can be divided broadly into five periods. The early period covers the Indian, Chinese, Sumerian, Egyptian and Assyrian civilizations followed by the Greco-Roman, Arabian, Medieval and modern periods (Buchnman, 1980). Among ancient civilisations, India has been known to be rich repository of medicinal plants as the forest in India is the principal repository of large number of medicinal and aromatic plants, which are largely collected as raw materials for manufacture of drugs and perfumery products. About 8,000 herbal remedies have been codified in Ayurveda. The Rigveda (5000 BC) has recorded 67 medicinal plants (Chopra et al., 1956), Yajurveda 81 species and Atharvaveda (4500-2500 BC) 290 species. Charak Samhita (700 BC) and Sushrut Samhita (200 BC) had described properties and uses of 1100 and 1270 species, respectively (Kirtikar & Basu, 1918; Baquar, 1989) in compounding of drugs and these are still used in the classical formulations, in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. Before the availability of synthetic drugs, medicinal plants were used as the most primary source of medicine and continue to provide the mankind with new remedies for many diseases. These were used in crude forms like expressed juice, powder, decoction or infusion. As the plant have specialized biochemical capabilities they are able to synthesize and accumulate a vast array of primary and secondary chemical constituents or phytochemicals (Ghazanfar, 1994). Phytochemicals are responsible for metabolic activities and used for defense purpose. They are produced by specific biochemical pathways, which occur inside the plant cells. Due to their physical characteristic and chemical properties these chemical constituents are highly beneficial to the mankind and most importantly in primary health care. The first chemical substance isolated from plants was benzoic acid (Figure 1) discovered in 1560. The potent pain-killer, morphine (Figure 1) was separated from the dried latex of Papaver somniferum L. (opium) by F. W Serturner (1783-1814). The bioactive molecule, ephedrine (Figure 1) is one of the most potent plant based medicine and was isolated from Ephedra sinica (Ma huang). It was used in the form of various salts to combat bronchial asthma (Tang & Eisenbrand, 1992). Reserpine (Figure 1) an indole alkaloid, obtained from the roots of Indian plant, Rauwolfia serpentina, was used to treat hypertension. Taxol (Figure 1) is a diterpenoid first isolated from the stem bark of pacific Yew, Taxus brevifolia and used against ovarian for the treatment of ovarian cancer.