Nanocomposite Polymer Scaffolds Responding under External Stimuli for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering Applications

Abstract

The blossoming development of nanomaterials and polymer science has opened the way toward new biocompatible scaffolds responding remotely to external stimuli (magnetic field, light, electric field). Such smart scaffolds are envisioned as new implantable tissues displaying multiple therapeutic and imaging functionalities. They hold great promises to achieve a controlled delivery of therapeutics for various diseases, or to ensure a stimuli-induced cellular response for bone, cardiac, or muscle tissue engineering.