Macrophages are the initial biologic responders to biomaterials. These highly plastic immune sentinels control and modulate responses to materials, foreign or natural. The responses may vary from immune stimulatory to immune suppressive. Several parameters have been identified that influence macrophage response to biomaterials, specifically size, geometry, surface topography, hydrophobicity, su...

Emerging manufacturing processes to generate regenerative advanced therapies can involve extensive genomic and/or epigenomic manipulation of autologous or allogeneic cells. These cell engineering processes need to be carefully controlled and standardized to maximize safety and efficacy in clinical trials. Engineered biomaterials with smart and tunable properties offer an intriguing tool to prov...

The Journal of Functional Biomaterials is instituting an annual award to recognize the outstanding papers related to materials for biomedical applications published in this journal. We are pleased to announce the first “Journal of Functional Biomaterials Best Paper Award” for 2015. Nominations were made by the Editorial Office of Journal of Functional Biomaterials based on the citations and dow...

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with diseases eye, organ responsible for vision, and its attachments. Biomaterials can be made different types materials replace or improve a function an organ, specifically eye in case ophthalmic biomaterials. are substances interact biological systems medical purpose, either as therapeutic (treat, augment, repair, tissue body) diagnostic agen...

This work aimed to develop novel composite biomaterials for bone tissue engineering (BTE) made of bioactive glass nanoparticles (Nbg) and alginate cross-linked with Cu(2+) or Ca(2+) (AlgNbgCu, AlgNbgCa, respectively). Two-dimensional scaffolds were prepared and the nanocomposite biomaterials were characterized in terms of morphology, mechanical strength, bioactivity, biodegradability, swelling ...

Scaffold biomaterials for tissue engineering can be produced in many different ways depending on the applications and the materials used. Most research into new biomaterials is based on an experimental trial-and-error approach that limits the possibility of making many variations to a single material and studying its interaction with its surroundings. Instead, computer simulation applied to tis...

BACKGROUND Natural biomaterials from bone-like minerals derived from avian eggshells have been considered as promising bone substitutes owing to their biodegradability, abundance, and lower price in comparison with synthetic biomaterials. However, cell adhesion to bulk biomaterials is poor and surface modifications are required to improve biomaterial-cell interaction. Three-dimensional (3D) nan...

Extracellular membrane vesicles (EVs) function as vehicles of intercellular communication, but how the biomaterials they carry reach the target site in recipient cells is an open question. We report that subdomains of Rab7+ late endosomes and nuclear envelope invaginations come together to create a sub-nuclear compartment, where biomaterials associated with CD9+ EVs are delivered. EV-derived bi...

In nature, tiny amounts of inorganic impurities, such as metals, are incorporated in the protein structures of some biomaterials and lead to unusual mechanical properties of those materials. A desire to produce these biomimicking new materials has stimulated materials scientists, and diverse approaches have been attempted. In contrast, research to improve the mechanical properties of biomateria...

Devices made of synthetic or natural materials have been used in the medical area and introduced into the human body to improve human health since ancient times. Romans, Chinese, and Aztecs used gold wires in dentistry more than 2,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptians and Greeks sutured wounds with plant !bers and animal-derived materials and used wood for prosthetic limbs. Since then, scientists ha...