Current trends in the development of synthetic materials for medical applications.
During the last 30 years, advances in material science have led to the development of a number of synthetic materials that have unique properties for medical applications.  To date, most of these synthetic materials are nondegradable and accordingly have found limited applications.  This article discusses synthetic biomaterials and explores their uses, suggesting that in future, implants will find more routine applications and that degradable implants will be refined, leading to wider applications.
Kohn
J
J
Department of Chemistry, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick.
D000497:Alloys / Q000737:chemistry; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D019736:Prostheses and Implants / Q000266:history / Q000639:trends*; D011474:Prosthesis Design / Q000266:history / Q000639:trends