Emerging biomaterials and strategies for medical applications : a review

The creation of new materials is one of the fundamental driving forces between research andindustry and lays the foundation for new products to enhance health and well being for the future.Antibacterial materials are an active area of research but also an economic sector in fullexpansion that addresses many application domains. It is also a world priority in terms ofreducing infection in humans for improved life and well being. Healthcare is one the largest andmost rapidly expanding needs of modern society, and smart approaches and materials arerequired to extend the boundaries required to improve the field. In this paper, we systematicallyreview a series of biomaterials and strategies that have emerged over the last decade. Inparticular, focus has been driven around the nanorealm. Some of the diverse arenas surroundingthe nanodomain and applications include drug screening technologies, biocompatibility,emerging approaches and biomimetics. In a wider front, intelligent materials are where the nextphases of research are driven, some of which are discussed herein.