Polymers and polymer based composites have gained increasingly larger applications in medicine and surgery. Presently, most biomaterials applications rely on industrial substances that were initially developed by industry for non-medical purposes. Moreover, polymers have been often used regardless of their peculiar characteristics which can be viceversa and very attractive for some specific applications. In the past years we have assisted to a significative and faster development of polymer science as well as of medicine and surgery. The assistance of computer aided apparatus, the use of always more advanced instruments, the larger interest of the academic and industrial world, bring continuously new contributions to the research on biomedical and parmaceutical use of polymers. The need of a forum where these specific researchs can be presented and discussed, and the success of the 1st Conference on Polymers in Medicine, held in Porto Cervo in 1982, have encouraged the Editors to plana periodical meeting, focused on polymers and composites, to be held every odd year. This book contains papers selected by an International Scientific Committee among those presented at the 2nd International Conference on Polymers in Medicine, Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Applications, held in Capri, Italy, 3-7 June, 1985. In addition to contributed papers, several Authors were invited to present the "state of the art" as well as their personal contibution on specific key arguments. The level of all contributions was high, the participation well qualified, and the meeting interesting and hopefully pleasant.

The book provides an up-to-date overview of the diverse medical applications of advanced polymers. The book opens by presenting important background information on polymer chemistry and physicochemical characterization of polymers. This serves as essential scientific support for the subsequent chapters, each of which is devoted to the applications of polymers in a particular medical specialty. The coverage is broad, encompassing orthopedics, ophthalmology, tissue engineering, surgery, dentistry, oncology, drug delivery, nephrology, wound dressing and healing, and cardiology. The development of polymers that enhance the biocompatibility of blood-contacting medical devices and the incorporation of polymers within biosensors are also addressed. This book is an excellent guide to the recent advances in polymeric biomaterials and bridges the gap between the research literature and standard textbooks on the applications of polymers in medicine.

The utilization of polymers in medicine has become a reality in the last decade. This book is a concise presentation of the fundamentals, applications, and methods of optimization of polymeric drugs and polymeric drug delivery systems for medicinal purposes. The basic rationale for the use of polymeric drugs and polymer delivery systems is the possibility to alter the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of therapeutic agents so as to maintain an adequate therapeutic environment at the site of disfunction for an extended period of time. The primary objectives for using polymeric drugs and polymeric drug delivery systems are to introduce new and efficient methods of drug administration, to improve efficacy and patient compliance, to decrease toxicity, and to ensure safety. The following factors influence the design and performance of polymers for medicinal applications: disease, drug properties, type of therapy (acute or chronic), physiology of the patient, administration route, and the site requiring therapy.

Biosynthetic Polymers for Medical Applications provides the latest information on biopolymers, the polymers that have been produced from living organisms and are biodegradable in nature. These advanced materials are becoming increasingly important for medical applications due to their favorable properties, such as degradability and biocompatibility. This important book provides readers with a thorough review of the fundamentals of biosynthetic polymers and their applications. Part One covers the fundamentals of biosynthetic polymers for medical applications, while Part Two explores biosynthetic polymer coatings and surface modification. Subsequent sections discuss biosynthetic polymers for tissue engineering applications and how to conduct polymers for medical applications. - Comprehensively covers all major medical applications of biosynthetic polymers - Provides an overview of non-degradable and biodegradable biosynthetic polymers and their medical uses - Presents a specific focus on coatings and surface modifications, biosynthetic hydrogels, particulate systems for gene and drug delivery, and conjugated conducting polymers

The past decade has witnessed a vigorous growth in activities toward the development of a variety of biomedical devices ranging from the simple A-V shunt to the complex artificial heart. Re search and development teams have been created comprising engi neers, material scientists and clinicians and, perhaps for the first time, such groups are collaboratively bringing their respec tive talents to bear on problems associated with defects in the human organism. These collaborations have resulted in a prolifera tion of new information and a rapid and continuing redefinition of the frontiers of progress. It was to keep pace with these changes, and provide an updated view of the state of the art that this meeting was conceived. The present volume marks the publication of the proceedings of the Johnson & Johnson Symposium held in Morristown, New Jersey, on July 11 and 12, 1974. It surveys the applications of polymers to medical and surgical problems and contains discus sions on the biocompatibility of polymers, polymers as biomate rials, and the use of polymers in prosthetic devices and drug re lease systems. In addition, the Symposium offers recent perspec tives on the critical problems of the material-tissue interface, the design criteria for silicone-based systems, and the varied use of polymers in artificial hearts, kidneys, eyes and lungs.

This book contains the collected papers presented at the Inter national Symposium on Polymers in Medicine, Biomedical and Pharma cological Applications, which was held at Porto Cervo, Italy, May 24-28, 1982. To the best of our knowledge, this symposium was the first to be organized in Italy entirely devoted to the several aspects of the use of synthetic and semisynthetic macromolecular materials in the field of biomedical and pharmacological applications. The inten~ tion of the Organizing Committee of the symposium was the promotion of a scientific and cultural initiative to gain the attention of various experts in line research of the potential of suitably de signed "man-made" polymeric materials in biomedical applications. With highly qualified and worldwide attendance, the above goal was fully satisfied. Indeed the opportunity of meeting to gether in a well conceived and discreet corner of the world, scien tists with different cultural backgrounds and objectives helped ex tend the meaning of the symposium far beyond the Italian borders and the perspectives of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) , the major sponsor of the meeting.

Science and Principles of Biodegradable and Bioresorbable Medical Polymers: Materials and Properties provides a practical guide to the use of biodegradable and bioresorbable polymers for study, research, and applications within medicine. Fundamentals of the basic principles and science behind the use of biodegradable polymers in advanced research and in medical and pharmaceutical applications are presented, as are important new concepts and principles covering materials, properties, and computer modeling, providing the reader with useful tools that will aid their own research, product design, and development. Supported by practical application examples, the scope and contents of the book provide researchers with an important reference and knowledge-based educational and training aid on the basics and fundamentals of these important medical polymers. - Provides a practical guide to the fundamentals, synthesis, and processing of bioresorbable polymers in medicine - Contains comprehensive coverage of material properties, including unique insights into modeling degradation - Written by an eclectic mix of international authors with experience in academia and industry

The design and development of tissue-engineered products has benefited from many years of clinical utilization of a wide range of biodegradable polymers. Newly developed biodegradable polymers and modifications of previously developed biodegradable polymers have enhanced the tools available for creating clinically important tissue-engineering applications. Insights gained from studies of cell-matrix interactions, cell-cell signaling, and organization of cellular components, are placing increased demands on medical implants to interact with the patient’s tissue in a more biologically appropriate fashion. Whereas in the twentieth century biocompatibility was largely equated with eliciting no harmful response, the biomaterials of the twenty first century will have to elicit tissue responses that support healing or regeneration of the patient’s own tissue. This chapter surveys the universe of those biodegradable polymers that may be useful in the development of medical implants and tissue-engineered products. Here, we distinguish between biologically derived polymers and synthetic polymers. The materials are described in terms of their chemical composition, breakdown products, mechanism of breakdown, mechanical properties, and clinical limitations. Also discussed are product design considerations in processing of biomaterials into a final form (e.g., gel, membrane, matrix) that will effect the desired tissue response.