materials Review Electroactive Smart Polymers for Biomedical Applications Humberto Palza 1,2,*, Paula Andrea Zapata 3 and Carolina Angulo-Pineda 1 1 Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Biotecnología y Materiales, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, 8370456 Santiago, Chile;
[email protected] 2 Millenium Nuclei in Soft Smart Mechanical Metamaterials, Universidad de Chile, 8370456 Santiago, Chile 3 Grupo de Polímeros, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, 8350709 Santiago, Chile;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +56-229-784-085 Received: 6 December 2018; Accepted: 9 January 2019; Published: 16 January 2019 Abstract: The flexibility in polymer properties has allowed the development of a broad range of materials with electroactivity, such as intrinsically conductive conjugated polymers, percolated conductive composites, and ionic conductive hydrogels. These smart electroactive polymers can be designed to respond rationally under an electric stimulus, triggering outstanding properties suitable for biomedical applications. This review presents a general overview of the potential applications of these electroactive smart polymers in the field of tissue engineering and biomaterials. In particular, details about the ability of these electroactive polymers to: (1) stimulate cells in the context of tissue engineering by providing electrical current; (2) mimic muscles by converting electric energy into mechanical energy through an electromechanical response;