Responsive biomaterials engineered via plasma-driven techniques

Abstract

Responsive materials are rapidly emerging as a broad category of technology that promises to reshape the field of biomedical engineering and improve the therapeutic and diagnostic output of countless biomaterials and biomedical devices. At the same time, there is growing interest in the field of plasma-driven material fabrication and modification, due to the flexibility, simplicity, sustainability, and broad applicability of plasma processes. The convergence of these two fields promises a pathway toward sustainably manufactured and highly effectual responsive biomedical technologies. In this review, we evaluate the current landscape of responsive materials developed by plasma-enabled protocols. Within this field, we found that there is a spectrum of roles for plasma-enabled fabrication, ranging from minor applications, such as surface activation followed by downstream functionalization, to strategies that almost exclusively rely on plasma processes for fabrication. We showcase examples of plasma-enabled materials that are responsive to individual or multi-stimuli, including pH, temperature, electrical, photonic, magnetic, mechanical, enzymatic and glucose-based. These factors serve as biomedically relevant triggers to initiate a range of therapeutic and diagnostic material functions, including those relevant to targeted drug delivery, biosensing, and bioengineering. We highlight the challenges encountered in the current state of the art, such as issues with precursor suitability and scalability. Finally, we identify the future pathways necessary to pursue in translating this promising field into real clinical technologies.