Conducting Polymers: A Versatile Material for Biomedical Applications

Abstract Conducting polymers (CPs) are organic polymers with metallic conductivity or semiconducting properties which have drawn considerable attention globally. They are versatile materials because of their excellent environmental stability, electrical conductivity, economic importance as well as optical and electronic properties. CPs are interesting because they can be functionalized in several ways and the chemical properties are fine‐tuned by incorporating new functionalities, making them more suitable in biomedical and other applications. They act as appropriate mediums of biomolecules and can be employed to improve the speed, stability, and sensitivity of various biomedical devices. They can transit between conducting and semiconducting states and have the ability to change mechanical properties by regulated doping, chemical modifications, etc. In this paper, we review the potential biomedical uses of conducting polymers such as smart textiles, bioactuators, hydrogels, and the use of CPs in neural prosthetic devices.