Biomaterials: Developments & Applications

Despite the huge impact that biomaterials have had on patients quality of life, improvements in device performance and the development of alternatives to augment available therapies are continuously being sought. This book explores the development and application of biomaterials over the past 25 years, examining the current clinical demand, the scientific rationale, and the technical challenges to be overcome. Furthermore, this book introduces the blood components involved in hemostasis and thrombosis, followed by the common biomaterials applied in blood-contacting devices. The complications induced by the interactions between blood and biomaterials is also briefly addressed, as well as the commonly used techniques for improving biomaterials hemocompatibility. In addition, the authors give some valuable insight into calcium orthophosphate cements and concretes, as excellent biomaterials suitable for both dental and bone grafting application. Despite the growth of potential hydrogel based therapies, the route to market for new products is constrained by the need to develop an appropriate regulatory and metrological framework under which they will be assessed. This book outlines the role that metrology has to play in the regulation of emerging hydrogel-based therapies and detail possible strategies for assessing their safety and effectiveness. Other chapters examine the surface of CoCrMo alloy prior and after exposure into different solutions simulating oral conditions, recent research on delivery of gold nanoparticles inside the cells and their potential applications in nanomedicine, and the widely used biomedical applications for hydrogels.