Biomedical and Environmental Applications of Waterborne Polyurethane-Metal Oxide Nanocomposites

Metal oxide nanoparticles constitute one of the most conjoint subsets of nanosized particles that are under extensive research, attributing to their outstanding abilities to be useful as a catalyst, and in electronics and biomedical application domains. These nanoparticles are fabricated via physical, chemical, and biological approaches, and their properties depend on the selection of the particular synthesis strategy. However, these manufacturing methods possess certain limitations, which hurdles their benefits in large-scale applications. Consequently, metal oxide nanoparticles are blended with biocompatible polymers, to form nanocomposites for maintaining the stability, without compromising their additional significant properties. Contextually, waterborne polyurethanes are developed and incorporated with a wide variety of metal oxide nanoparticles, to form potential polymer-based nanocomposites with high biocompatibility, as well as mechanical and thermal stability. These novel nanocomposites are currently under investigation to be beneficial as coating materials or formulations in biomedical and environmental applications. This chapter aims to illustrate various types of magnetic and non-magnetic waterborne polyurethane-metal oxide nanocomposites, including their characteristics and specific functionalities. Furthermore, the advantages of utilizing these novel nanocomposites in biomedical and environmental applications are discussed, with an eye on their limitations and future outlook.