Biomaterials

Introduction
The materials which are used for structural
applications in the field of medicine are called
Biomaterials.
Such materials are used to replace the damaged
or diseased body parts in human or animal
bodies. This is possible because the
mechanical, physical and chemical properties
of biomaterials are comparable with that of
host body.
 BIOMECHANISM
The implants that are used for the improvement in the
quality of the life producing new biomaterials. The
implant materials react with tissues in different ways
depending on material type. Thus , the tissue attachment
mechanism depends on the response of tissue to the
implant surface. In general , one can classify the
mechanism as inert and bioactive. The inert materials
such as titanium, alumina are nearly chemically inert in
the body and show minimum chemical interactions with
adjacent tissues. The bioactive materials such as glass,
ceramics contains oxides of silicon, sodium, calcium forms
chemical bonds with living bone leading to strong
mechanical implant bone bond
 CLASSIFICATION OF BIOMATERIALS
The biomaterials which finds applications in the field of
medicine are classified as.

 Metals and Alloys

 Glass and Glass- Ceramics
 Polymers
 Composites
In some cases single material mentioned above can
not fulfills the requirement of specific application. In
such cases combinations of more than one material
are required.
 METALS AND ALLOYS
The pure metals like gold, silver and copper were used
for different medical applications. The use of above
metals were restricted due to the poor surgical
conditions. To overcome this difficulty the alloys
such as 316L stainless steel, Co-Cr and Ti-6Al-4V
have been developed for orthopedic applications.
These materials are fixed to the bones by
mechanical interlocking and they do not form any
chemical bonds with the living bones . Now a days
above materials are coated with bioactive glasses
and glass- ceramics to make them bioactive with
natural bones and to increase mechanical strength.
 BIOACTIVE GLASSES AND GLASS CERAMICS
These biomaterials plays important role as bone
repairing materials in the field of medicine. They
provides chemical and mechanical environment for
bone tissue attachment . All bioactive glasses and
glass ceramics bond with the living bones through
the formation of layer on the surface of living
bones. The surface forms a biologically active
hydroxyl carbonate apatite (HCA)layer, which
provides the bonding interface with natural
tissues. The materials such as glasses, glass
ceramics, metals polymers and composite cements
can form HCA layer and hence bond with living
bone and are known as bioactive materials.
 POLYMERS
The common polymers that are used in biomedical
fields are linear chains of repeating subunits. The
properties of these polymers depend on the
chemical structure and macromolecules of the
polymer chains. The change in the properties of
polymers plays important role in different medical
applications. These polymers are biodegradable.
When it is implanted within the human body, the
polymer is gradually absorbed by the human body
which regenerates tissues. The polymers which are
used in medical field are polyactide acid, polyglycolic
acid and their copolymers.
 COMPOSITES
The use of composite technology produces a wide
range of biomaterials namely biocomposites that
improve the quality of life of many people. The
ceramic materials alone do not possess the
required mechanical properties to replace the
natural bone. Therefore in order to increase the
strength of biomaterials the reinforcement of
bioactive glasses to polymers leads production of
biocomposite materials. The stiffness of
biocomposite materials is very close to that of
natural bone, hence they finds wide applications in
medical industries.
 Skin/cartilage
Drug Delivery
Devices
Ocular implants
Polymers

Orthopedic Bone
screws/fixation replacements

Heart
valves
Metals Synthetic BIOMATERIALS Ceramics

Dental Implants Dental Implants

Semiconductor
Materials Biosensors
Implantable
Microelectrodes
 PROCESSING OF BIOMATERIALS
In order to use biomaterials for different biomedical
applications the biomaterials are prepared by
conventional techniques.
The tanning operations on skin of animal produces
leather which was used as clothing b ancient man
and today it was used for making belts, boxes,
purses, shoes etc. Tanning is used for preserving
leather. Two tanning techniques are used .
1. Vegetable Tanning: In this method skin is
preserving in tanning liquor for many days and
then drying to produce leather.
2. Chrome tanning: In this method skin is
inserted in acidic solution and then revolving in
a drum which contains chromium salt solution
and finally leather is dried and rolled.
Bones of animals are used to make tools and
weapons. They are laminated with organic
substances.
Bones and teeth are made from naturally
formed ceramic known as hydroxyapatite.
 PROPERTIES OF BIOMATERIALS

In order to use biomaterials for different biomedical applications, the

study of properties and their interaction with the natural tissues are
very important.
The mechanical properties of biomaterials such as fracture strength,
compressive strength, fracture toughness, elastic modulus etc. are
taken into consideration while processing the biomaterials.
The evaluation of properties and their relations with natural tissues will
help to study the biocompatibility of biomaterials for proper
orthopaedic and dental restoration applications.
• Physical Requirements
– Hard Materials.
– Flexible Material.
 Chemical Requirements
 Must not react with any tissue in the body.
 Must be non-toxic to the body.
 Long-term replacement must not be biodegradable.
 PROPERTIES OF BIOMATERIALS
1. Biomaterials have hard and flexible.
2. They do not react with tissues in the body.
3. They must be non-toxic to the body.
4. Biomaterial has similar deformable properties with
the material it is going to replace.
5.  Biomaterial hardness is desirable as equal to bone
hardness.
6. They have high fracture toughness.
 APPLICATIONS OF BIOMATERIALS
Following are some applications of biomaterials in medical
fields.
1. The biomaterials are used for productions of Heart Valve,
Artificial Tissue, Dental Implants etc.
2. The biomaterials such as Silicone-acrylate, hydro gel etc.
are used for production of contact lenses.
3. Teflon, Dacron, Polyurethane are used for blood vessels.
4. Titanium, alumina, calcium phosphate are used for
dental implants.
5. Titanium, stainless steel, polyethylene are used for joint
replacement.
6. Polyurethane is used for artificial heart.
 APPLICATIONS OF BIOMATERIALS
7. Stainless steel, Co-Cr alloy are used for production of bone
plates.
8. Cellulose, polyacrylonitrile are used for artificial kidney.
9. Biomaterials are used in: Joint replacements, Bone cement,
Blood vessel Skin repair devices (artificial tissue) Drug
delivery mechanisms, surgical instrumrnts etc.
10. Biocomposites are used for coupling of dental filler
materials.
11. Bioceramics are used for production of synthetic bones.
Biomaterial Science