Biomaterials in contact with soft tissue and blood

The permanently growing demand for smart and effective implants comes from surgeons and on the other hand from the patients. Therefore, the interest is focused on the development of biofunctionalized materials for surgical applications. For this implants it is necessary to have an excellent biocompatibility and a biocompatibility without any toxic degradation products. The biocompatibility is a fundamental issue, which will largely determine the performance of the implanted device. Each artificial material – perhaps with the exception of pyrolytic carbon – has no immediate ideal histocompatibility. It is just a foreign body! But we can improve the foreign body reaction with a surface coating of the supporting matrix with proteins. Water-soluble proteins such as albumin, collagen or fibronectin favour are qualified for this purpose. Adhesion of cells on a supporting substrate is essential for the cell function. The exchange mechanisms of nutriments and the specific metabolic receptors are different distributed on the cell surface. Therefore a three dimensional arrangement is necessary for full use of the whole cell efficiency. In principle foam structures from ceramics or open cell foam composites are conceivable. In addition bioresorbable materials, e.g. for sutures and temporary osteosynthesis devices needs essential mechanical properties, depending on the application and implantation duration. Another demand is the structure compatibility of an artificial device.