Polyurethane for Medical and Dental Applications: An Update

Polyurethanes are recognized to be durable, elastic, elastomeric, and straightforward when used. At present, PUs have wide applications ranging from industrial, engineering to medical and dental applications. PUs are known to be versatile polymers that are critically used in medical and dental settings. Because PUs are biocompatible, adaptable, non-cytotoxic, and have antibacterial effects, they are easily an option as scaffolds for regeneration and drug delivery supplements across biological fields. Cardiac pacemakers, breast implants, and aortic and gastric balloons are known to be coated with PUs. They are also vastly used as linings on catheters and medical tubings. Understanding its properties can help the clinician fully maximize and manipulate this material. This chapter illustrates the current trends in the use of PUs in the medical and dental disciplines. Despite numerous studies highlighting PUs with or without combinations of other nanomaterials, more studies are still needed to fully understand their potential and the extent of their usage.