Smart materials: Properties and applications.

Smart materials, due to their responsiveness to environmental stimuli such as stress, light, temperature, moisture, and electric or magnetic fields, have become integral in various applications, particularly in healthcare. Examples include shape memory alloys, magneto-rheostatic materials, piezoelectric materials, and electro-rheostatic materials. The unique properties of shape memory materials offer intriguing possibilities in material science, enabling novel functionalities across diverse materials. Smart materials primarily focus on shape memory effects and pseudo-elasticity, offering significant potential in various biological applications. These materials find applications in robotics, aerospace, keyboards, biomedicine, and more. They are also utilized in the development of biofuel-using devices that harness biomechanical energy from human movements, environmental conditions, or body heat. Studies indicate that smart materials exhibit higher biocompatibility compared to traditional implant materials like stainless steel alloys. Moreover, smart materials are considered promising for tumor detection, diagnosis, and treatment, offering a potential solution to the challenges posed by cancer, which remains a leading cause of death worldwide. The Nano-drug delivery approach is particularly crucial in leveraging smart materials for cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]