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Intelligent biomaterials continue to find emerging applications in the field of medical devices, drug delivery, tissue engineering and beyond. A major approach to design such advanced materials is to incorporate specific functional groups into the molecular structure of a biomaterial that can respond and be modulated by appropriate alternations in the microenvironment. Typically, these intelligent materials change their morphological, physical or chemical properties in a controlled manner in response to external stimuli that are either physical such as light, temperature, etc., chemical such as pH, ionic strength, etc. or biological such as enzyme, stress, etc. In this chapter, we give a brief historical account of intelligent biomaterials, followed by basic concepts and current trends in the field of shape changing materials, thermoresponsive, light-sensing, pH-reactive, magneto-stimuli and bio-active biomaterials. Further, we also detail some other unique and emerging intelligent biomaterials under development including ultrasound-reactive, dual or multi-responsive biomaterials. Research and development activities in the field of intelligent biomaterials have intensified in recent years and we envisage a greater scope for these biomaterial systems in tissue engineering and beyond. |
