Biomaterials in Medicine

Abstract

The performance of materials in the body can be classified in many ways. Biomaterial is used to make devices to replace a part or a function of the body in a safe, reliable, economic, and physiologically acceptable manner [hench and erthridge, 1982]. A Variety of devices and materials presently used in the treatment of disease or injury include such commonplace items as sutures, needles, catheters, plates, tooth fillings, etc. Over the years, a biomaterial can be simply defined as a synthetic material used to replace part of a living system or to function in intimate contact with living tissue. The Clemson University Advisory Board for Biomaterials has formally defined a biomaterial to be “a systemically and pharmacologically inert substance designed for implantation within or incorporation with living systems”. It is also defined as “a nonviable material used in a medical device, intended to interact withbiological systems” [Black, 1992]. Other definitions have included “materials of synthetic as well as of natural origin in contact with tissue, blood, and biological fluids, and intended for use for prosthetic, diagnostic, therapeutic, and storage applications without adversely affecting the living organism and its components.