In recent years there has been tremendous progress in the area of tissue engineering research. This book focusses on the fundamental principles underpinning these recent advances in the materials science developed for tissue engineering purposes. Smart materials for tissue engineering are produced by modifying the physicochemical and biological properties of the scaffolds with response to external stimuli to enhance the tissue regeneration. The functions of living cells can be regulated by smart materials which respond to changes in the surrounding microenvironment. This book comprehensively documents the recent advancements in smart materials for tissue engineering and will provide an essential text for those working in materials science and materials engineering, in academia and industry.

In the last couple of decades, research in the area of tissue engineering has witnessed tremendous progress. The focus has been on replacing or facilitating the regeneration of damaged or diseased cell, tissue or organs by applying a biomaterial support system, and a combination of cells and bioactive molecules. In addition new smart materials have been developed which provide opportunities to fabricate, characterize and utilize materials systematically to control cell behaviours and tissue formation by biomimetic topography that closely replicate the natural extracellular matrix. Following on from Smart Materials for Tissue Engineering: Fundamental Principles, this book comprehensively covers the different uses of smart materials in tissues engineering, providing a valuable resource for biochemists, materials scientists and biomedical engineers working in industry and academia.

This book reviews the current knowledge on tunable hydrogels, including the range of different materials and applications, as well as the existing challenges and limitations in the field. It covers various aspects of the material design, particularly highlighting biological responsiveness, degradability and responsiveness to external stimuli. In this book, readers will discover original research data and state-of-the-art reviews in the area of hydrogel technology, with a specific focus on biotechnology and medicine. Written by leading experts, the contributions outline strategies for designing tunable hydrogels and offer a detailed evaluation of the physical and synthetic methods currently employed to achieve specific hydrogel properties and responsiveness. This highly informative book provides important theoretical and practical insights for scholars and researchers working with hydrogels for biomedical and biotechnological applications.

This book provides comprehensive coverage of smart biomaterials and their potential applications, a field that is developing at a very rapid pace. Because smart biomaterials are an emerging class of biomaterials that respond to small changes in external stimuli with large discontinuous changes in their physical properties, they have been designed to act as an “on–off” switch for, among others, bio separation, immunoanalysis, drug delivery technologies, gene therapy, diagnostics, bio sensors and artificial muscles. After an introduction to the topic and the history of smart biomaterials, the author gives the reader an in-depth look at the properties, mechanics, and characterization of smart biomaterials including hydrogels, particles, assemblies, surfaces, fibers and conjugates. Information on the wide range of applications for these materials follows, including drug delivery, tissue engineering, diagnostics, biosensors, bio separation and actuators. In addition, recent advances in shape memory biomaterials as active components of medical devices are also presented.

This book presents a comprehensive and broad-spectrum picture of the state-of-the-art research, development, and commercial prospective of various discoveries conducted in the real world of functional and smart materials. This book presents various synthesis and fabrication routes of function and smart materials for universal applications such as material science, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, metrology, nanotechnology, physics, biology, chemistry, civil engineering, and food science. The content of this book opens various scientific horizons proved to be beneficial for uplifting the standards of day-to-day practices in the biomedical domain. Myriad innovations in the materials science and engineering are transforming our everyday lives in extraordinary ways. This book captures the emerging areas of materials science and advanced manufacturing engineering and presents recent trends in research for researchers, field engineers, and academic professionals.

Polymer-based smart materials have become attractive in recent years due to the fact that polymers are flexible and provide many advantages compared to inorganic smart materials: they are low cost, they are easy to process, and they exhibit good performance at nano- and microscale levels. This volume focuses on a different class of polymers that are used as smart materials in the areas of biotechnology, medicine, and engineering. The volume aims to answer these questions: How do we distinguish ‘smart materials’? and How do they work? The chapters lay the groundwork for assimilation and exploitation of this technological advancement. Four of the key aspects of the approach that the authors have developed throughout this book are highlighted, namely the multidisciplinary exchange of knowledge, exploration of the relationships between multiple scales and their different behaviors, understanding that material properties are dictated at the smallest scale, and, therefore, the recognition that macroscale behavior can be controlled by nanoscale design.