Nanoclays still hold a great strength in biomedical nanotechnology applications due to their exceptional properties despite the development of several new nanostructured materials. This article reviews the recent advances in copolymer/clay nanocomposites with a focus on health care applications. In general, the structure of clay comprises aluminosilicate layers separated by a few nanometers. Recently, nanoclay-incorporated copolymers have attracted the interest of both researchers and industry due to their phenomenal properties such as barrier function, stiffness, thermal/flame resistance, superhydrophobicity, biocompatibility, stimuli responsiveness, sustained drug release, resistance to hydrolysis, outstanding dynamic mechanical properties including resilience and low temperature flexibility, excellent hydrolytic stability, and antimicrobial properties. Surface modification of nanoclays provides additional properties due to improved adhesion between the polymer matrix and the nanoclay, high surface free energy, a high degree of intercalation, or exfoliated morphology. The architecture of the copolymer/clay nanocomposites has great impact on biomedical applications, too, by providing various cues especially in drug delivery systems and regenerative medicine.

Cardiovascular biomaterials (CB) dominate the category of biomaterials based on the demand and investments in this field. This review article classifies the CB into three major classes, namely, metals, polymers, and biological materials and collates the information about the CB. Blood compatibility is one of the major criteria which limit the use of biomaterials for cardiovascular application. Several key players are associated with blood compatibility and they are discussed in this paper. To enhance the compatibility of the CB, several surface modification strategies were in use currently. Some recent applications of surface modification technology on the materials for cardiovascular devices were also discussed for better understanding. Finally, the current trend of the CB, endothelization of the cardiac implants and utilization of induced human pluripotent stem cells (ihPSCs), is also presented in this review. The field of CB is growing constantly and many new investigators and researchers are developing interest in this domain. This review will serve as a one stop arrangement to quickly grasp the basic research in the field of CB.

Chitosan as a biobased polymer is gaining increasing attention due to its extraordinary physico-chemical characteristics and properties. While a primary use of chitosan has been in horticultural and agricultural applications for plant defense and to increase crop yield, recent research reports display various new utilizations in the field of advanced biomedical devices, targeted drug delivery, and as bioimaging sensors. Chitosan possesses multiple characteristics such as antimicrobial properties, stimuli-responsiveness, tunable mechanical strength, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and water-solubility. Further, chitosan can be processed into nanoparticles, nano-vehicles, nanocapsules, scaffolds, fiber meshes, and 3D printed scaffolds for a variety of applications. In recent times, nanoparticles incorporated in chitosan matrices have been identified to show superior biological activity, as cells tend to proliferate/differentiate faster when they interact with nanocomposites rather than bulk or micron size substrates/scaffolds. The present article intents to cover chitosan-based nanocomposites used for regenerative medicine, wound dressings, drug delivery, and biosensing applications.

Blood compatibility of metallocene polyethylene (mPE) was investigated after modifying the surface using hydrochloric acid. Contact angle of the mPE exposed to HCl poses a decrease in its value which indicates increasing wettability and better blood compatibility. Surface of mPE analyzed by using FTIR revealed no significant changes in its functional groups after treatment. Furthermore, scanning electron microscope images supported the increasing wettability through the modifications like pit formations and etching on the acid rendered surface. To evaluate the effect of acid treatment on the coagulation cascade, prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) were measured. Both PT and APTT were delayed significantly (P < 0.05) after 60 min exposure implying improved blood compatibility of the surfaces. Hemolysis assay of the treated surface showed a remarkable decrease in the percentage of lysis of red blood cells when compared with untreated surface. Moreover, platelet adhesion assay demonstrated that HCl exposed surfaces deter the attachment of platelets and thereby reduce the chances of activation of blood coagulation cascade. These results confirmed the enhanced blood compatibility of mPE after HCl exposure which can be utilized for cardiovascular implants like artificial vascular prostheses, implants, and various blood contacting devices.