Biomedical Engineering Advances (Jun 2022)
Recent advancements in nanomaterials for biomedical implants
Abstract
The need for advancement in biomaterials that stimulate the repair, replacement, or recovery of gentle body tissues and bones keeps growing as the population ages. Although substantial research has been carried out over the last decade to develop medical implants for bone regeneration and healing body tissues, implants still fail due to infection, fracture, corrosion, and extreme load. Depending upon the permanent or temporary implant requirement, various materials such as metals, ceramics, and polymers are used as implantable materials. The article discusses various metals, alloys and polymeric materials and their application as medical implants. Titanium implants have shown promising application as a bone replacement, and their alloys play a critical role in orthopaedic and dental procedures. However, they show various drawbacks such as Ti-6Al-4V alloy shows toxicity, Ti-Zr alloy exhibits lack of mechanical stability and complexity in processing and Ti-Ni alloy show toxicity and low thermal conductivity. Surface modification technique such as PIII&D, CVD, etc., contribute to attaining robust biocompatibility and improving their mechanical properties. Titanium alloys, their properties, and future scope as implantable material have been extensively discussed. Given that biocompatibility and bone response are important determinants of implants’ clinical performance, published studies of in-vitro and in-vivo research have been critically discussed in the article. Bioactivity is an essential characteristic required to stimulate biological response with host tissue and bond with the surrounding tissue. A critical discussion on bioactive materials and enhancement of bioactivity has been included in the article. The paper also examines and discusses several physical and chemical surface modification techniques and their utilization in the development of medical implants. This study discusses biomaterials’ overall performance and applications in biological systems, vital for enhancing medical implants and tissue engineering. This review contains critics for young researchers planning to embark on the development of implants for biomedical applications.
