Libyan Academy for Postgraduate Studies Biomedical Engineering- Genetic Engineering

Introduction to Biomaterials
BEM 603
December 8, 2021
Lecture 2

Fall 2021/2022
Outlines
➢ Biomaterials

➢ Requirements of Biomaterials

➢ Classification of biomaterials

➢ Bioceramic materials

➢ Biometallic materials

➢ Biopolymer materials
Grading
➢ 20% Midterm

➢ 20% Assignments & Presentations.

➢ 60% Final.
Biomaterial Definition

➢ A (nonviable) material used in a medical device,

intended to interact with biological systems (Williams,
1987).

➢ Any material of natural or of synthetic origin that comes

in contact with tissue, blood or biological fluids, and
intended for use in prosthetic, diagnostic, therapeutic
or storage applications without adversely affecting the
living organism and its components.
Requirements of Biomaterials
Biomaterials must be:
➢ inert or specifically interactive
➢ biocompatible
➢ mechanically and chemically stable or biodegradable
➢ sterilizable
➢ non-carcinogenic.

What is biocompatibility ?
Biocompatibility is the ability of a material to perform within appropriate
host response without having toxic or injurious effects on biological
system
Sterility
➢ Sterility is defined as less than one in one million surviving
bacterial spores in the medical device prior to implantation.
➢ There are several sterilization options: autoclaving,
irradiation, ethylene oxide gas, and gas plasma.
➢ Autoclaving works by subjecting devices or materials to high-
pressure steam at temperatures on the order of 121˚C in order to
destroy bacterial contamination.
▪ These systems are commonly employed to sterilize surgical
tools.
▪ Not suitable for polymer materials.
Classification of biomaterials

Biomaterials

Natural
Synthetic

Tissue based Plant based

Metallic Ceramics Polymers Composites Homografts

Xenografts

Autograft
 Examples of Biomaterials

Joint replacement
➢ Purpose: to replace dyfunctional
or damaged joint organs.

➢ Materials: Titanium (Ti) and its Hip implant

Knee implant
alloys, Stainless steel and its alloys,
polyethylene (PE), etc.

➢ Required property: able to

withstand high load bearing,
bioactive, and light weight.
Shoulder implant Ankle implant
 Bioceramic materials
➢ Inorganic compounds that contain metallic and non-metallic
elements, for which inter-atomic bonding is ionic or covalent
➢ Advantages:
- inert in body (or bioactive in body)
- high wear resistance (orthopedic &
dental applications)
- high modulus (stiffness) & compressive
strength
- fine esthetic properties for dental
applications
➢ Disadvantages:
- brittle (low fracture resistance)
- low tensile strength
- poor fatigue resistance
Bioceramic Applications
➢ Femoral heads and cup on hip replacement bearings
➢ Knee prostheses
➢ Dental-crowns and bridges
➢ Inner ear implants (cochlear implants)
Bioceramics examples:
➢ Alumina, Zirconium, Calcium phosphate, Silica, hydroxyapatite are
common used materials.
➢ Porous ceramic materials have been found extremely useful as
coatings for metallic implants;
➢ The coating aids in tissue fixation of the implant by providing a
porous surface for the surrounding tissue to grow into and
mechanically interlock; and,
➢ Certain ceramics are considered bioactive ceramics if they establish
bonds with bone tissue.
 Biometallic Materials
➢ The type of bonding in metals and metal alloys render them valuable
properties.
➢ They are strong, wear resistance and ductile materials.
➢ High thermal & electrical conductivity
➢ One complication that can occur from the use of metals in orthopedic
applications is the phenomenon of stress shielding.
➢ In some situations, such as hip implantation, the high strength of the
metal in the implant induces it to assume more than its share of
responsibility for the load in that region;
➢ This decreases the load born by the surrounding tissue and therefore
shields it from experiencing stress;
➢ Lack of stress causes bone density to decrease as bone tissue resorbs,
eventually causing complications in the implant/tissue interface.
Biometallic Materials

Hip replacement
➢ Titanium (Ti) and its alloys, Stainless
steel and its alloys, polyethylene (PE)
➢ Required property: able to
withstand high load bearing,
bioactive, and light weight.
Bone plate Hip replacement
• Purpose : To hold and to assist
remodeling of two broken/fractured
bones
• Materials : Ti & its alloys, SS & its
alloys, cobalt-chromium (Co-Cr) & its
alloys, etc
• Required property : Able to withstand
load bearing
Skeletal System
Polymer Materials
➢ Polymers are long-chain molecules or macromolecules that are built by
connecting repeat chemical units called “mers.” [combining poly
(many) + mer (part)].
➢ Each molecule of a polymer can consist of hundreds, thousands, or even
millions of repeat units.
➢ A single repeat unit is known as the monomeric unit or monomer.
➢ The number of units in a polymeric chain plays a significant role in
determining its properties.
➢ Example: polyethylene which is derived from the basic unit of ethylene
gas, as the number of units in the chain increases, the product changes
from a gas to a liquid and then to a brittle or waxy solid.
➢ As the number of units increases even more, the polymeric chains
become long enough to start entangling with each other and lead to the
properties more commonly associated with polymers.
 Polymer Monomer

(C2H4)n C2H4

Polymer properties
➢ They have covalent bonding (sharing of e’s).
➢ Soft, ductile, low strength and low density materials.
➢ Thermal & electrical insulators.
➢ They have many applications, even DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) has
found this structure useful, storing genetic information in thousands
upon thousands of repeating sequences of polymers.
 Biopolymer Applications
➢ Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) is widely used as a medical implant in
such applications as bone cement for dental and orthopedic applications
 Biopolymer Applications
➢ Materials such as silicones, polyurethanes, and polyacrylonitrile have
been used with a diverse range of applications including, heart-lung
machines, vascular grafts, angioplasty catheters, dental and orthopedic
implants, and prosthetics.

Artificial kidney
• Purpose: To replace
dysfunctional/damaged kidney
• Materials: Cellulose,
polyacrylonitrile
Artificial heart
• Purpose : To replace
dysfunctional/damaged heart
• Materials : Polyurethane
 Biopolymer Applications
➢ Using of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) in
total joint replacements became the mainstay of the orthopedics industry
➢ Nylon and polyester polymers have good tensile strength and are often
employed in applications such as sutures and in cardiovascular devices
such as balloon catheters

UHMWPE in orthopedic applications

Biopolymer Applications

Artificial skin
Intraocular lens
• Purpose : For skin grafting and to
• Purpose : To replace eye lens after
induce regeneration of skin
cataract surgery
• Materials : Silicone-collagen
• Materials : PMMA, silicone rubber, etc
composite
• Required property : Flexible, low
stiffness, biodegradable
 Class Activity

▪ Form a group of five.

▪ Select one biomedical device/apparatus.
▪ Identify its application.
▪ Determine what specific materials are used to construct the devices.
▪ Relate the materials properties of the devices with its application.
▪ Present your finding.