ABSTRACT
Biomaterials have been used for many years in the treatment of gastrointestinal conditions. Their applications range from biodegradable sutures and meshes to assist in the healing of laparotomy procedures, to the use of alginate-based raft-forming formulations, for the symptomatic treatment of heartburn and esophagitis. In addition to the continued use and development of traditional therapies, there is a growing interest in the design and fabrication of new biomaterials for a variety of other therapeutic applications associated with the gastrointestinal tract, such as nanotechnologybased drug delivery systems and tissue engineering. Before new therapies involving biomaterials can be successfully implemented, consideration needs to be given to the complexity of the gastrointestinal tract and the effect of this complexity on the delivery, longevity, and ef cacy of the biomaterial.
