Polymer blends and composites for biomedical applications

Abstract

The versatility of polymers has enabled to implement many new ideas in the biomedical field and continues to play a significant role in finding new and improved solutions in the exciting multidisciplinary fields of implants and scaffold tissue engineering. Polymers are rapidly replacing other traditional biomaterials such as metals and ceramics attributable to their versatility. Material properties of polymers will be discussed in a context specific to biomedical engineering here, which includes biocompatibility, biodegradation, biochemical and biomechanical behaviours. Biopolymers have been used as implantable materials for a broad range of biomedical applications, such as cardiology, cartilage, vasculature, bone, wound healing, drug delivery and prosthetic dentistry. Also biopolymers have become a primary material used for fabricating scaffolds in tissue engineering, a fast emerging area for tackling a critical issue in tissue and organ shortage. To address these two above-mentioned application areas, this chapter is divided into two sections: The first focuses on tissue scaffolds, including the design requirements, fabrication methods and cellular testing. The second discusses coronary stents and their development, investigating into the potential of biopolymer blends as a candidate for biodegradable coronary stents.