Abstract

Regenerative medicine therapies often require materials with complex geometries and dynamic behavior.Much work has been done to develop biomaterials that are responsive to certain stimuli to facilitate more control over synthesis，delivery，and excretion.Thermogelling polymers are one set of these stimuli-sensitive materials that undergo a phase change in response to fluctuations in temperature.Biomedical researchers have taken advantage of this phenomenon to engineer a number of regenerative medicine technologies，including injectable drug delivery depots and tissue engineering scaffolds，and temporary structures for 3D printing.This chapter will discuss the mechanisms through which these polymers undergo thermal gelation，as well as look in-depth at the more commonly used natural and synthetic polymers.It will also discuss the necessary modifications that researchers have made to these polymers to change their gelation temperatures，cytocompatibility，or biodegradability，and make them more useful for biomedical applications.Finally，we will discuss recent applications of thermogelling polymers in the field of regenerative medicine，and the promise they hold for the future.