Exploring the Various Biomedical Applications of Smart Materials

Abstract

Smart materials have self-accommodation with the environment, are classified according to their response, and alter their properties in response to an external stimulus or change in the conditions of their surrounding environment, which has attracted the biomedical community to leverage these explicit properties in numerous active structures and devices. Shape-changing properties are not only the desired feature in the use of smart or intelligent materials for biomedical applications, but also their biocompatibility, biodegradability, inexpensiveness, and renewability make them suitable for such applications. Shape memory characteristics offer attractive insights into material science and give an approach to unconventional functions in every material class. The emergence of smart materials (polymers, metals, and alloys) is increasingly important in improving biomedical technology development. An overview of the different categories of smart materials, with a special emphasis on 3D-printed smart polymers for biomedical applications, is presented.