Recent Development in Polyurethanes for Biomedical Applications

Polyurethanes are one of the few categories of polymers that are used in biomedical devices due to their high elastomeric content and great biocompatibility. Due to its extensive structural and physical diversity, polyurethane is currently among the materials with the highest biological and blood compatibility. These materials were essential in the development of numerous medical devices, including blood oxygenators, catheters, cardiac valves, dialysis machines, stents, vascular prostheses, surgical dressings, bio-adhesives, drug delivery systems, pressure-sensitive adhesives, tissue regeneration systems, electrospun biomaterials, and nerve generation, in addition to antibacterial surfaces. The first synthetic polymers were created in the 1930s and had special properties that made them valuable as plastics and fibers. They were created by reacting diisocyanates with glycols. During World War II, polyurethanes were utilized in a wide range of products, including resins, adhesives, rigid foams, elastomers, but also coatings: Elastomeric polyurethane (PU) and flexible foams built on polyesters were created in the 1950s. This chapter, which is thorough but not extensive, discusses PU in the context of its recent use in the biomedical field. It also provides brief overviews of PU’s history and classification in the introduction section. In order to direct researchers toward effective research and even onto application within the biomedical field and beyond, this chapter offers highly important information on what has been addressed and areas needing attention with respect to PU application in biomaterials.