Smart Biopolymers and their Biomedical Applications

Abstract

It is a well known fact that polymers have gained an important place in day-to-day life for their specific properties which make them applicable in wide range of applications. Specifically, biopolymers are gaining particular attention in view of their biodegradability, biocompatibility, renewability and inexpensiveness. In addition to these properties, smart biopolymers exhibit a characteristic feature of being sensitive to some of the factors like temperature, humidity, pH, intensity of light and electrical or magnetic fields. Consequently, this review briefly explains about smart biopolymers and their classifications with examples including their biomedical applications. Some of these smart biopolymers are also shape memory polymers (SMPs) in view of their ability to regain their original shape on exposure to a specific stimulus. The shape memory effect of these polymers is explained by quoting some examples. Special emphasis is given on the applications of smart biopolymers in the field of drug delivery and tissue engineering, which clearly indicate the advancement and employment of the smart biopolymers in recent biomedical applications.