Self-doped conducting polymers in biomedical engineering: Synthesis, characterization, current applications and...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Conducting polymers (CPs) possess valuable physicochemical properties like electrical conductivity and biocompatibility, making them attractive for biomedical engineering.
• However, their limited stability in physiological conditions, leading to conductivity loss, restricts their practical application.
• Self-doping CPs, through chemical structure modification, offer a promising solution to overcome these limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive review of the current state-of-the-art in self-doped conducting polymers (CPs).
• To highlight the potential of self-doped CPs for biomedical applications.
• To detail structure modifications, physicochemical characteristics, and biological properties of self-doped CPs.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of existing research on self-doped conducting polymers.
• Analysis of structure-property relationships in modified CPs.
• Evaluation of electrochemical, optical, mechanical, and biological properties.

Main Results:

• A library of structure modifications for self-doped CPs is presented.
• Detailed characterization of physicochemical and biological properties is provided.
• Specific biomedical areas benefiting from self-doped CPs are identified.

Conclusions:

• Self-doped CPs demonstrate enhanced stability and functionality compared to conventional CPs.
• These materials exhibit promising characteristics for various biomedical applications.
• Further research into self-doped CPs can significantly advance biomedical engineering.