This book is the first to comprehensively address the complex phenomenon of biological interactions with the surface charge of biomaterials.

Success or failure of biomaterials, whether tissue engineered constructs, joint and dental implants, vascular grafts, or heart valves, depends on molecular-level events that determine subsequent responses of cells and tissues. This book presents the latest developments and state-of-the-art knowledge regarding protein, cell, and tissue interactions with both conventional and nanophase materials. Insight into these biomaterial surface interactions will play a critical role in further developments in fields such as tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and biocompatibility of implanted materials and devices. With chapters written by leaders in their respective fields, this compendium will be the authoritative source of information for scientists, engineers, and medical researchers seeking not only to understand but also to control tissue-biomaterial interactions.

An Introduction to Tissue-Biomaterial Interactions acquaints an undergraduate audience with the fundamental biological processes that influence these sophisticated, cutting-edge procedures. Chapters one through three provide more detail about the molecular-level events that happen at the tissue-implant interface, while chapters four through ten explore selected material, biological, and physiological consequences of these events. The importance of the body’s wound-healing response is emphasized throughout. Specific topics covered include:Structure and properties of biomaterials Proteins Protein-surface interactions Blood-biomaterial interactions Inflammation and infection The immune system Biomaterial responses to implantation Biomaterial surface engineering Intimal hyperplasia and osseointegration as examples of tissue-biomaterial interactions The text also provides extensive coverage of the three pertinent interfaces between the body and the biomaterial, between the body and the living cells, and between the cells and the biomaterial that are critical in the development of tissue-engineered products that incorporate living cells within a biomaterial matrix. Ideal for a one-semester, biomedical engineering course, An Introduction to Tissue-Biomaterial Interactions provides a solid framework for understanding today’s and tomorrow’s implantable biomedical devices.

At the interface of biology, chemistry, and materials science, this book provides an overview of this vibrant research field, treating the seemingly distinct disciplines in a unified way by adopting the common viewpoint of surface science. The editors, themselves prolific researchers, have assembled here a team of top-notch international scientists who read like a "who's who" of biomaterials science and engineering. They cover topics ranging from micro- and nanostructuring for imparting functionality in a top-down manner to the bottom-up fabrication of gradient surfaces by self-assembly, from interfaces between biomaterials and living matter to smart, stimuli-responsive surfaces, and from cell and surface mechanics to the elucidation of cell-chip interactions in biomedical devices. As a result, the book explains the complex interplay of cell behavior and the physics and materials science of artificial devices. Of equal interest to young, ambitious scientists as well as to experienced researchers.

Given such problems as rejection, the interface between an implant and its human host is a critical area in biomaterials. Surfaces and Interfaces for Biomaterials summarizes the wealth of research on understanding the surface properties of biomaterials and the way they interact with human tissue. The first part of the book reviews the way biomaterial surfaces form. Part Two then discusses ways of monitoring and characterizing surface structure and behavior. The final two parts of the book look at a range of in vitro and in vivo studies of the complex interactions between biomaterials and the body. Chapters cover such topics as bone and tissue regeneration, the role of interface interactions in biodegradable biomaterials, microbial biofilm formation, vascular tissue engineering and ways of modifying biomaterial surfaces to improve biocompatibility. Surfaces and Interfaces for Biomaterials will be a standard work on how to understand and control surface processes in ensuring biomaterials are used successfully in medicine.

The development of biomaterials as a powerful regulator of the cellular microenvironment for application in drug discovery/delivery, tissue engineering, and implant biology, requires a better understanding of cell-surface interactions at macro, micro, and nanometre levels. Cell–substrate interactions are multifaceted, involving the integration of various physical and biochemical signals. The interactions among these micro-environmental factors cannot be facilely elucidated and quantified by conventional experimentations, and this necessitates multifactorial strategies. A major task in the biomaterials field would be to develop advanced tools that can offer greater insight into characterizing the cellular behavior and interactions on the material interface. Obtaining this information is crucial in taking biomaterial science to new realms for biomedical applications. The contribution of molecular techniques to elucidate the cell–biomaterial interactions is indispensable on the time-course and level of expression of particular genes that determine cellular phenotype. The amalgamation of multiple disciplines has already produced many interesting techniques and approaches for the cell–biomaterial characterization, of which we have tried to provide a comprehensive and integrated description. The main focus of this book chapter is to explore the toolbox contents available in elucidating the cell–biomaterial interactions. We brief about the topographical, mechanical and biochemical changes faced by a cell upon the rendezvous of any surface in particular with the cell–biomaterial interface. The material characteristics playing cards in directing cellular behavior are straightened out. We also discuss the current knowledge of how a cell can interact with a substrate at the nanoscale and the effect of size, morphology, organization and separation of nanofeatures on cell response.

Surface engineering provides one of the most important means of engineering product differentiation in terms of quality, performance, and lifecycle cost. It is essential to achieve predetermined functional properties of materials such as mechanical strength, biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and heat and oxidation resistance. Surface Engineering of Biomaterials addresses this topic across a diverse range of process technologies and healthcare applications. Introduces biomaterial surface science and surface engineering and includes criteria for biomaterial surface selection Focuses on a broad array of materials including metals, ceramics, polymers, alloys, and composites Discusses corrosion, degradation, and material release issues in implant materials Covers various processing routes to develop biomaterial surfaces, including for smart and energy applications Details techniques for post-modification of biomaterial surfaces This reference work helps researchers working at the intersection of materials science and biotechnology to engineer functional biomaterials for a variety of applications.