5 - Applications of shape memory polymers (SMPs) in mechanobiology and bone repair

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) possess unique stiffness- and shape-changing functionality that is beginning to be applied both to study bone mechanobiology and to address limitations associated with current bone repair techniques. This chapter introduces SMPs and discusses their potential to be used as in vitro platforms for the study of bone cell mechanobiology, osteogenic differentiation, and bone model systems, and to be applied as in vivo scaffolds that can fill space, enable minimally invasive delivery, enable rapid load bearing, and self-anchor. A poly(ε-caprolactone)-based SMP scaffold is used to demonstrate the feasibility and application of the concepts discussed.