Issue 9, 2021

Porous polymeric membranes: fabrication techniques and biomedical applications

Abstract

Porous polymeric membranes have shown great potential in biological and biomedical applications such as tissue engineering, bioseparation, and biosensing, due to their structural flexibility, versatile surface chemistry, and biocompatibility. This review outlines the advantages and limitations of the fabrication techniques commonly used to produce porous polymeric membranes, with especial focus on those featuring nano/submicron scale pores, which include track etching, nanoimprinting, block-copolymer self-assembly, and electrospinning. Recent advances in membrane technology have been key to facilitate precise control of pore size, shape, density and surface properties. The review provides a critical overview of the main biological and biomedical applications of these porous polymeric membranes, especially focusing on drug delivery, tissue engineering, biosensing, and bioseparation. The effect of the membrane material and pore morphology on the role of the membranes for each specific application as well as the specific fabrication challenges, and future prospects of these membranes are thoroughly discussed.

Graphical abstract: Porous polymeric membranes: fabrication techniques and biomedical applications

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
13 Jul 2020
Accepted
19 Nov 2020
First published
19 Nov 2020

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2021,9, 2129-2154

Porous polymeric membranes: fabrication techniques and biomedical applications

A. Shiohara, B. Prieto-Simon and N. H. Voelcker, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2021, 9, 2129 DOI: 10.1039/D0TB01727B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements