Biomaterials have had a major impact on the practice of contemporary medicine and patient care. Growing into a major interdisciplinary effort involving chemists, biologists, engineers, and physicians, biomaterials development has enabled the creation of high-quality devices, implants, and drug carriers with greater biocompatibility and biofunctionality. The fast-paced research and increasing interest in finding new and improved biocompatible or biodegradable polymers has provided a wealth of new information, transforming this edition of Polymeric Biomaterials into a two-volume set.

This volume, Polymeric Biomaterials: Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Applications, contains 28 authoritative chapters written by experts from around the world. Contributors cover the following topics:

• Processing polymeric biomaterials into specific forms that ensure biocompatibility and biodegradability for use in various applications in the medical and pharmaceutical arenas
• Use of biomaterials to address medical issues such as pulmonary disease, cancer, heart disease, tissue damage, and bone disease
• Applications including a variety of drug delivery systems, medical devices, anticancer therapies, biological uses for hydrogels, nanotechnology, bioartificial organs, and tissue engineering

Completely revised and expanded, this state-of-the-art reference presents recent developments in polymeric biomaterials and the most up-to-date applications of biomaterials in medicine.