In this talk, our research activities at the Biomedical Engineering Institute of Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal aiming at the development of new biomaterials will be presented. In the first part of the talk, the preparation of Chitosan-Xanthan hydorogel as a biocompatible controlled released system will be discussed. Our results describing their physico-chemical characterization and the changes in their properties after processing by alkylating and oxidizing sterilization technologies will be discussed. The second part of the presentation will focus on the development of many surface treatments to increase the corrosion resistance and hemocompatibility of Shape Memory NiTi-based stents. A study of the surface modification of treated NiTi stents by many commercial sterilization methods and their effect on the samples' biocompatibilty will be reported. As a matter of high interest for future development, the sterilization issues of medical devices will be examined and some preliminary results to develop new techniques will be presented. On the basis of our knowledge of polymeric biomaterials and of Shape Memory Alloys, the concept of developing new biosensors and controlled release systems to be used in minimally invasive surgery and for safe use of medical devices will be outlined.