The research field of smart biomaterials is highly interdisciplinary. This book summarizes the main types of smart polymeric materials by focusing on medical applications. It is structured into nine short chapters, each containing extensive reference lists.
The special requirements to be met by the scaffold materials used in biomedical devices are revealed: biocompatibility, biodegradability, mechanical properties, scaffold architecture, manufacturing technology, and the proper choice of material. In this context, smart polymeric materials are classified based on their physical form, external stimuli to be responsive, and biomedical applications. Actually, the quality of a “smart” material is conferred by its controlled capacity to respond to light, pH, temperature, mechanical stress, magnetic field, or molecular stimuli.
Most of the chapters, from 2 to 8, are devoted to various biomedical materials and devices, such as drug delivery and tissue-engineering biomaterials, dental and orthopedic implants, and also wound-dressing, ocular, and cardiovascular devices. Each chapter ends with a discussion of current challenges and further perspectives. The final chapter highlights the market scenarios for various biomaterial-based devices, with a particular emphasis on the Indian market.
The schemes and figures benefit the text; however, the text is not presented in an attractive format to engage beginners. In addition, although the cited references are quite exhaustive (totaling more than 1000 books and scientific papers), most are from before 2010; since then, huge advances have been made in all of these smart biomaterials and devices, such as life-sustaining stents, prosthetic heart valves, sophisticated operational tools, imaging technologies, ultra-modern diagnostic kits, and drug delivery systems involving natural bioactive compounds.
This book might be of interest as introductory material for students and early-career researchers embarking on MSc and PhD studies, and for industry and marketing professionals involved in biomedical materials science and engineering. However, I recommend those actively working in the field to look elsewhere for a more thorough and up-to-date book on the subject.
Reviewer: Aurelia Meghea is an Emeritus Professor at the University Politehnica of Bucharest, Romania.
