Applications of biocomposites in biomedical engineering

Abstract

Smart and adaptable biocomposite materials that can change their properties depending on the external stimuli with a controlled and reversible action have gained interest in the biomedical engineering field as the key material in designing a scaffold and biomembrane through the utilization of smart hydrogel biocomposites. A smart hydrogel, also known as stimuli-responsive hydrogels, is a three-dimensional network that has an excellent response characteristic toward various environmental conditions such as pH, temperature, and magnetic field, which has led researchers to explore this material's role in the biomedical engineering field. This chapter covered the application of smart biocomposites in various sectors of the biomedical engineering field. For instance, a temperature-responsive shape memory and a pH-responsive scaffold that has been studied as an artificial scaffold and could substitute the damaged tissue in the tissue engineering field, particularly for bone tissue regeneration applications, have been discussed. Additionally, a pH-responsive hydrogel biocomposite in wound healing management has enhanced the healing process of an infected wound, a fast-healing rate of postoperative wounds, and wound healing for a diabetic patient has also been analyzed. The recent studies on the effects of pH-responsive and magnetic-responsive biocomposites have been reviewed, where they act as an anticancer drug delivery and hyperthermia cancer therapy with regulated and precise features that target the tumor cell only. Moreover, this chapter has gone into a pH-sensitive hydrogel that is applied to a drug delivery system as a carrier in administering various types of therapeutic drugs for epilepsy patients, aphthous ulcer cases, and antidepression patients with a well-controlled drug release manner. The issues faced in the smart biocomposite as a material for the biomedical engineering field have also been stated at the end of this chapter, with recommendations for future perspective that other studies could focus on in the future.