Evolutions, Revolutions and Trends in Biomaterials Science – A Perspective

Abstract

Despite a number of shortcomings biomaterials for implants have not changed much during the last decades. Yet, there is a revolution ongoing in fundamental biomaterials science research, which introduces new concepts and may help to answer a number of open questions. Bioactive and biomimetic nanomaterials in zero, one or two dimensions may be at the brink of transfer to clinical testing and application. These materials will in the future intervene actively in biological processes, such as protein adsorption, cell binding and growth.

Protein Adsorption to Biomaterials

“…[32] speculated that the orientation of osteopontin on the -NH2 surface may have exposed the cell adhesive domain arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) in an orientation favorable to cell adhesion, while on the -COOH surface, RGD was oriented toward the material surface and not toward the adhering cells. Osteopontin is a very acidic, negatively charged protein that may have bound strongly and in a different orientation to the positively charged -NH 2 surface than to the negatively charged -COOH surface [32,33] . 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548Stimuli-responsive polymers (also known as "smart" polymers, defined as materials that respond to external stimuli by altering a specific property) have been developed to modulate protein adsorption in a dynamic and as-needed fashion.…”

Formation and Topotactical Orientation of Fibrinogen Nanofibrils on Graphite Nanostructures

“…[1,29] Although the formation and deposition of amyloid-like protein nanofibrils in the human body are generally not desired, protein nanofibrils can play a very important role in the field of tissue engineering, [30] and biomedicine. [31,32] The intrinsic characteristics of the fg such as self assembly, [33] promotion of cell adhesion and the dual role in calcium phosphate formation [34] give fg an important role in the field of biomaterials science, [35] as fg is a potential building block for preparation of advanced biomaterials. [1] Furthermore, some properties of the protein nanofibrils are useful for nanotechnology.…”

Tailoring Cell Behavior on Polymers by the Incorporation of Titanium Doped Phosphate Glass Filler

“…[7,18,50] First of them takes into account biochemical and biological interactions on the interface: device/tissue. This involves protein adsorption, cells adhesions, and differentiation, at nano-and micro-scale level.…”

“…implants or tissue engineering devices, which are suppose to satisfy these definitions, polymers, ceramics, and glasses or combination of those materials [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] are the most popular. Some of these materials are very well established and commonly used to produce various medical devices.…”