Medical application of polyurethane (PU) elastomers has been contributed significantly to the quality and effectiveness of health care systems. Applications such as nasogastric catheter, sutures, wound dressing, drug delivery system, and insulation on the leads of electronics pacemakers are already in the market. Properties of polyurethanes such as thermal and chemical stability, mechanical performance, and low degradation rate make an outstanding material for that kind of application. More recently, castor oil as polyol source has been investigated due to the needs of friendly environmental sources. In this chapter, we want to approach the advances in polyurethane area from castor oil for application in medicines. A review of castor oil-based polyurethanes, chemical modification, processing techniques, and applications in tissue engineering and medical devices will be made with the objective to understand the current situation, limitations, challenges, and perspective of this type of material.
Part of the book: Elastomers