BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS OF POLYURETHANES

Polyurethanes (PUs) are generating increasing interest in the biomedical field due to its characteristic properties. The objective of this article was review general properties of PUs and related with their biomedical applications, also to show the importance of the synthesis of PUs and how each one of the reagents used influences both mechanical properties and biological response of the designed medical devices. It is important to look for a correlation between mechanical properties and biological properties from the synthesis process of the PUs which allow to maintain the biocompatibility required by each medical device. In this work, the PUs are evaluated into three groups of applications: equipment and surgical instruments, temporary applications within the body, and permanent applications within the body. This review can show the broad field of use of PUs in biomedical applications.