Nurturing Center of Jiangsu Province for State Key Laboratory of AI Imaging & Interventional Radiology,Department of Interventional Radiology and Vascular Surgery of Zhongda Hospital of Southeast University,Medical School of Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
With the continuous development of materials science, an increasing number of bio-embolic materials have been applied in the field of interventional medicine. Vascular embolization has become a commonly used therapeutic approach for benign and malignant tumors, as well as vascularrelated diseases such as hemorrhage, arteriovenous malformations and aneurysms. Bio-embolic materials can be classified into mechanical devices, solid particulate embolic agents, liquid embolic agents and liquid-to-solid phase-transition embolic agents. Among them, gelatin sponge, iodized oil and polyvinyl alcohol have already entered clinical application; however, the physicochemical properties and biological functions of these embolic materials still require further improvement. Interventional bio-embolic materials are evolving from singlefunction materials toward intelligent responsive embolic materials with multifunctional integration, multimodal imaging capability, controllable degradation and favorable maneuverability. This article reviews the role,classification and evolution of bio-embolic materials in interventional therapy, and discusses the shortages and development directions.