Song, RichardMurphy, MaxwellLi, ChenshuangTing, KangSoo, ChiaZheng, Zhong2023-05-222023-05-222018-01-012022-06-28https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/9244In the last half-century, the development of biodegradable polymeric materials for biomedical applications has advanced significantly. Biodegradable polymeric materials are favored in the development of therapeutic devices, including temporary implants and three-dimensional scaffolds for tissue engineering. Further advancements have occurred in the utilization of biodegradable polymeric materials for pharmacological applications such as delivery vehicles for controlled/sustained drug release. These applications require particular physicochemical, biological, and degradation properties of the materials to deliver effective therapy. As a result, a wide range of natural or synthetic polymers able to undergo hydrolytic or enzymatic degradation is being studied for biomedical applications. This review outlines the current development of biodegradable natural and synthetic polymeric materials for various biomedical applications, including tissue engineering, temporary implants, wound healing, and drug delivery. © 2018 Song et al.Drug deliveryNatural biomaterialsSynthetic biomaterialsTissue engineeringWound healingAnimalsBiocompatible MaterialsBiomedical ResearchDrug Delivery SystemsHumansPolymersProstheses and ImplantsTissue EngineeringWound Healingalginic acidarabinogalactanbiodegradable plasticbiomaterialcarmustinechitinchitosanchlorhexidinecollagenfibringelatingentamicinhyaluronic acid derivativeinsulinpolyanhydridepolycaprolactonepolyesterpolyhydroxyalkanoic acidpolymerpolysaccharidepolyurethansilkstarchbiomaterialpolymerbone graftbrain cancercontrolled drug releasedrug delivery systemenzymatic degradationhumanhydrogelinsulin dependent diabetes mellitusnonhumanReviewsustained drug releasetissue engineeringwound healinganimalchemistrydrug delivery systemdrug effectmedical researchmetabolismprostheses and orthosestissue engineeringwound healingDental MaterialsDentistryReview