Biomaterial
Biomaterials are nonviable substances designed to interact with living tissue for medical applications, serving to repair or replace damaged body parts or assist biological functions. They can be sourced from natural materials or synthetically produced, encompassing a wide range of substances, including metals, ceramics, and polymers. Common uses of biomaterials include heart valves, joint replacements, contact lenses, and stents, all of which play crucial roles in enhancing health and quality of life. The concept of biomaterials has evolved significantly since the 1970s, developing into a specialized scientific field that integrates medicine, biology, chemistry, and engineering.
The success of biomaterials hinges on their physical compatibility, mechanical performance, and durability, ensuring they fulfill their intended roles without provoking adverse reactions in the body. Biocompatibility is essential, as these materials must not release toxins or cause inflammation. The biomaterial industry is substantial, with a projected growth from over $170 billion in 2024 to more than $523 billion by 2034. This sector not only includes healthcare applications but also extends to areas like animal husbandry and advanced research involving nanotechnology. Overall, biomaterials represent a vital intersection of science and healthcare, contributing significantly to medical innovation and patient care.
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Subject Terms
Biomaterial
Biomaterial is a substance that is not capable of independent life—also known as a nonviable substance—that is used to supplement living tissue. Some biomaterials are human-made, while others come from natural sources. Substances as diverse as metal, ceramic, glass, silicon, foam, film, and fabric can serve as biomaterials. Medical biomaterial is used to repair or replace damaged or missing parts such as heart valves, joints, and teeth. It can also supplement or assist body parts or systems; biomaterials used in these ways include contact lenses, catheters, and cardiac pacemakers. Other uses for biomaterials include growing mediums for cells and some types of animal life.
Background
It is difficult to determine the very first use of biomaterials. Egyptian tombs from as far back as 2000 BCE include evidence of linen thread used to sew wounds. Such sutures meet the definition of a biomaterial because the key trait of a biomaterial is that there is a relationship between the biomaterial and a biological life-form that benefits the life-form.
Despite the fact that people have used biomaterials for thousands of years, it is only since the 1970s that they have been specifically defined and studied as a scientific field. In the twenty-first century, it is possible to get a bachelor's degree in biomaterials. In the past, these substances were not seen as separate from the applications for which they are used. Now, people are trained specifically in the development of new ways to use nonviable materials to help improve or lengthen life.
Biomaterial researchers draw from a diverse number of sciences, including medicine, biology, chemistry, and engineering. Fields that involve biomaterials include physicians, nurses, biologists, microbiologists, veterinarians, chemists, and bioengineers as well as chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineers. As with any issue that affects the health and life of individuals, lawyers and ethicists are also involved in the production and use of biomaterials. The cost of research, development, and production means that people with financial expertise are also involved in the biomaterial field.
The number of biomaterial devices used in the world on an annual basis is very large. For instance, it is estimated that more than two hundred thousand people a year receive heart valves, and another two hundred thousand have pacemakers implanted, while more than two million receive cardiovascular stents to help heart function. Seven million people have their vision restored with intraocular lens implants, and as many as seventy-five million contacts are dispensed to help others see better. Twenty-five million dialysis treatments save lives on an annual basis, while more than one million hip and knee joints are replaced to help people walk. In 2024, biomaterials represented a more than $170 billion global industry and was expected to grow to more than $523 billion by 2034. In the United States, these biomaterial replacements or repairs and the follow-up care they require represent more than 1 percent of the total gross national product.
Biomaterials can be made from a number of different substances, even within one device. A single joint replacement, for instance, can include metals, ceramics, and plastics and will be attached to the bones it will help move by a polymer bone cement. Other biomaterials can be manufactured from a single substance. For example, a catheter, contact lens, or sutures might be made of one specific type of material.
Overview
The type and number of materials contained in a particular biomaterial device will be largely determined by its use and by its intended useful life. For example, sutures and catheters are generally each only required to last for a few days, while heart valves and joint replacements need to last for ten or more years. By their nature, biomaterials are subjected to bodily fluids, movement, and temperature changes. Some may also be subjected to pressure or weight and other factors.
The three main requirements placed on a biomaterial relate to its physical properties, mechanical performance, and mechanical durability. First, the physical properties of the substance being used for the biomaterial must be compatible with its intended function. Biomaterial used for contact lenses needs to be clear and thin enough to sit between the eye and the eyelid without causing discomfort, while the membrane used during hemodialysis must be thin and permeable enough to allow blood to be filtered through it. The substances of which they are made must also not be something likely to cause allergies in the majority of people, since these biomaterials will be in direct contact with the body.
Biomaterials must also meet the mechanical performance requirements for the task for which they are intended. For example, while a contact lens must be thin and clear, it must also have the correct density to allow it to be formed to hold the right shape to correct vision. A replacement knee joint must be firm and strong enough to bear weight, but also slick enough for the surfaces of the joint to slide over each other easily.
Finally, the substances used must be durable enough to make their use worthwhile. Joint replacements and heart valves should be made of materials strong enough to last ten or more years, while catheters need only last days and contact lenses a few years. Each biomaterial replacement will have unique requirements for durability.
It is also important that any substance used as biomaterial is biocompatible. This means that it does not cause any other problems while resolving the primary problem. For instance, it should not give off any toxins that might poison the body, or any carcinogens that could cause cancer. Biomaterials have to be able to avoid corroding, breaking, or otherwise failing during their expected lifetime and should not cause any undue inflammation, irritation, or infection where they are implanted.
In addition to being used to repair, replace, or enhance biological body parts, biomaterials can be used in other ways. Some types of blood tests and gene studies use biomaterials to help prepare or process the test samples. Biomaterials are also used in animal husbandry for such things as regulating fertility cycles and providing a growing environment for oysters. Researchers are also experimenting with nanotechnology that combines biological material with computer chips to create biochips that can be coded to detect specific aspects of an organism's health, such as identifying traits of cancerous versus noncancerous cells in the same person to help in customized cancer treatments.
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