Applications of Inorganic Polymeric Materials, III: Polyphosphazenes

Polyphosphazenes form one of the most important and interesting classes of inorganic polymers having a backbone of alternating phosphorus and nitrogen atoms with phosphorus atom bearing two organic side groups. The most important feature of these polymers is the synthesis route which allows the side groups to be changed over a wide range to obtain a broad variety of products with different properties from elastomers to glasses, water soluble to hydrophobic polymers, bioinert to bioactive materials, and electrical insulators to conductors. In this paper, some novel applications of these polymers in biomedical materials and advanced devices are reviewed.