Biomedical Devices Based on Smart Polymers

Abstract:

Recently investigated applications of smart or intelligent polymeric materials for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, implants, stents, and medical devices are described in this chapter. These special types of polymer materials are also known as stimuli-responsive or environmentallysensitive polymers. The physical shapes of these materials are diverse; they can be dissolved in aqueous solution, adsorbed or grafted on aqueous-solid interfaces, or crosslinked in the form of hydrogels. This chapter covers the synthesis and applications of different polymer materials used in many forms to act as medical devices to improve the diagnostic and therapeutic methods. The types of materials fabricated with smart polymers reviewed in the present document are elastic shape-memory, biodegradable sutures, grafted hydrogels for responsive drug delivery systems, silicon biomaterials, nanoporous materials, medical fibers and textiles, as well as natural polymers with the ability to change their properties in response to temperature, pH, electrical field, light, mechanical stress or ionic strength. The applications in which smart polymers are applied in the medical field are very wide; for example, biomolecular nanotechnology, highly haemocompatible blood-contacting devices, prosthetic, orthotic, and other rehabilitative robotic assistive devices, self-sterilizing medical devices or electroactive polymers as artificial muscles are just a few of the advances made using smart polymers. Furthermore, the research in advanced material sciences is finding new possibilities toward smart organic devices.

Año de publicación:

2013

Keywords:

• crosslinking
• Medical devices
• Grafted polymers
• Intelligent materials
• Stimuli-responsive polymers
• hydrogels

Fuente:

scopus