Manipulation of Biomaterials to Achieve New Functionality: From Chemical to Physical Approaches

A special issue of Bioengineering (ISSN 2306-5354). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanotechnology Applications in Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2022) | Viewed by 1727

Special Issue Editor

Healthcare Technologies Institute, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Interests: biomaterials; additive manufacturing; 3D printing; extracellular vesicles

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bioengineers have continued to develop novel chemical and physical approaches to manipulate biomaterials such that they may aid in tissue regeneration, enable delivery of bioactive molecules or cells, and tackle healthcare challenges such as antimicrobial resistance. The development of novel fabrication methods, chemical modifications, and new ways to manipulate biomaterials in 3D is supporting innovation in next-generation healthcare technologies. These advances are also aiding our basic understanding of the mechanisms involved in tissue repair. The development of biomaterials with unprecedented functionality offers great potential to impact the treatment of numerous diseases and, through translational efforts, to change clinical practice.

This Special Issue is focused on recent advances in the manipulation of biomaterials, either through chemical modification or physical structuring, to enhance performance. Achieving new properties through these approaches offers exciting opportunities to tackle a range of bioengineering challenges, including tissue regeneration and infection control. Contributions from early-career researchers are especially encouraged.

The journal will be accepting contributions (both original articles and reviews) centered on the following topics:

  • Manipulation of biomaterials for therapeutic delivery/controlled release;
  • Development of novel biomaterial functions, e.g., antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory;
  • 3D structuring of biomaterial scaffolds to aid tissue regeneration;
  • Novel methods to validate the preclinical performance of biomaterials.

Dr. Sophie Cox
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Bioengineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biomaterials
  • therapeutic delivery
  • tissue regeneration
  • preclinical evaluation
  • 3D scaffolds

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

15 pages, 2096 KiB  
Review
Can We Structure Biomaterials to Spray Well Whilst Maintaining Functionality?
by Richard J. A. Moakes, Liam M. Grover and Thomas E. Robinson
Bioengineering 2023, 10(1), 3; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering10010003 - 20 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1347
Abstract
Structured fluid biomaterials, including gels, creams, emulsions and particle suspensions, are used extensively across many industries, including great interest within the medical field as controlled release vehicles to improve the therapeutic benefit of delivered drugs and cells. Colloidal forces within these materials create [...] Read more.
Structured fluid biomaterials, including gels, creams, emulsions and particle suspensions, are used extensively across many industries, including great interest within the medical field as controlled release vehicles to improve the therapeutic benefit of delivered drugs and cells. Colloidal forces within these materials create multiscale cohesive interactions, giving rise to intricate microstructures and physical properties, exemplified by increasingly complex mathematical descriptions. Yield stresses and viscoelasticity, typically arising through the material microstructure, vastly improve site-specific retention, and protect valuable therapeutics during application. One powerful application route is spraying, a convenient delivery method capable of applying a thin layer of material over geometrically uneven surfaces and hard-to-reach anatomical locations. The process of spraying is inherently disruptive, breaking a bulk fluid in successive steps into smaller elements, applying multiple forces over several length scales. Historically, spray research has focused on simple, inviscid solutions and dispersions, far from the complex microstructures and highly viscoelastic properties of concentrated colloidal biomaterials. The cohesive forces in colloidal biomaterials appear to conflict with the disruptive forces that occur during spraying. This review explores the physical bass and mathematical models of both the multifarious material properties engineered into structured fluid biomaterials and the disruptive forces imparted during the spray process, in order to elucidate the challenges and identify opportunities for rational design of sprayable, structured fluid biomaterials. Full article
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