Biomedical Materials
Biomedical Materials provides a comprehensive discussion of contemporary materials used in biomedical research and development. The pedagogical writing style and structure provides students with an understanding of the fundamental concepts necessary
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Roger Narayan Editor
Biomedical Materials
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Editor Roger Narayan Department of Biomedical Engineering University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 152 MacNider Hall Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1175 USA roger [email protected]
ISBN 978-0-387-84871-6 e-ISBN 978-0-387-84872-3 DOI 10.1007/978-0-387-84872-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2008939136 c Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper springer.com
A Historical Perspective on the Development of Biomedical Materials
There have been enormous strides in the development of novel biomedical materials over the past three decades. A biomedical material (also known as a biomaterial) is a polymer, metal, ceramic, or natural material that provides structure and/or function to an implantable medical device. In one generation, a large number of biodegradable polymers, bioactive ceramics, and wear-resistant metal alloys have made their way from research laboratories into widely-used medical devices. This heavy flurry of recent progress by materials scientists has partially overshadowed the efforts of surgeons, who previously led research efforts to develop biomedical materials. Until the 1960’s, surgeons were at the forefront of efforts to find new materials for use in medical prostheses. Surgeons were driven by their clinical duties to improve the treatment of those suffering from congenital malformations, trauma, or disease. These surgeon-scientists attempted to alleviate patient suffering using “off-the-shelf” materials, which were developed for nonmedical applications. This brief historical perspective describes some initial efforts to develop novel biomedical materials. Bronze or copper have been used for thousands of years to repair fractured bones. However, use of bronze or copper was limited due to copper accumulation in the eyes, liver, brain, and other body tissues. Two developments in the late nineteenth century accelerated the use of synthetic materials in the human body. The development of the X-ray revealed that conventional external treatments were insufficient and stimulated the development of internal fixation procedures. In addition, broad acceptance of Lister’s antiseptic procedures allowed for internal treatment of medical conditions with minimal risk of infection. Lister himself used antiseptic procedure to
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