Advances in Biomaterials, Biocomposites and Biopolymers 2025

A special issue of Biomimetics (ISSN 2313-7673). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomimetics of Materials and Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 October 2025 | Viewed by 475

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Theory of Mechanisms and Robots Department, Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Robotics, National University of Science and Technology Polytechnic Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: machines; bioengineering; nuclear power; materials science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomaterials may be natural or synthetic and are used in medical applications to support, enhance, or replace damaged tissue or a biological function. The first historical use of biomaterials dates to antiquity when ancient Egyptians used sutures made from animal sinew.

A biomaterial is now defined as a substance engineered to take a form that, alone or as part of a complex system, is used to direct, by control of interactions with components of living systems, the course of any therapeutic or diagnostic procedure. It is the aim of this Special Issue to provide a peer-reviewed forum for the publication of original papers and authoritative review and opinion papers dealing with the most important issues facing the use of biomaterials in clinical practice. The scope of this Special Issue covers a wide range of physical, biological, and chemical sciences that underpin the design of biomaterials and the clinical disciplines in which they are used. These sciences include polymer synthesis and characterization, drug and gene vector design, the biology of the host response, immunology and toxicology, and self-assembly at the nanoscale. Clinical applications include medical technology and regenerative medicine therapies in all clinical disciplines, as well as diagnostic systems that rely on innovative contrast and sensing agents.

A biocomposite is a composite material formed by a matrix (resin) and a reinforcement of natural fibers. Environmental concerns and the cost of synthetic fibers have led to the foundation of using natural fiber as a reinforcement in polymeric composites. The matrix phase is formed by polymers derived from renewable and nonrenewable resources. The matrix is important as it protects the fibers from environmental degradation and mechanical damage, holds the fibers together, and transfers the loads on them. In addition, fibers are the principal components of biocomposites, which are derived from biological origins, for example, fibers from crops (cotton, flax, or hemp), recycled wood, waste paper, crop processing byproducts, or regenerated cellulose fiber (viscose/rayon). The interest in biocomposites is rapidly growing in terms of industrial applications (automobiles, railway coaches, aerospace, military applications, construction, and packaging) and fundamental research, due to their great benefits (renewable, cheap, recyclable, and biodegradable). Biocomposites can be used alone or as a complement to standard materials, such as carbon fiber. Advocates of biocomposites state that the use of these materials improves health and safety in their production, are lighter in weight, have a visual appeal similar to that of wood, and are environmentally superior.

Biopolymers are organic substances present in natural sources. The term biopolymer originates from the Greek words bio and polymer, representing nature and living organisms. Large macromolecules made up of numerous repeating units are known as biopolymers.

Dr. Florian Ion Tiberiu Petrescu
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. Biomimetics 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 2200 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
  • biocomposites
  • biopolymers
  • macromolecules
  • medical applications
  • self-assembly
  • synthetic fibers
  • industrial applications

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issues

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

35 pages, 30622 KiB  
Review
Nanotopographical Features of Polymeric Nanocomposite Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine: A Review
by Kannan Badri Narayanan
Biomimetics 2025, 10(5), 317; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics10050317 - 15 May 2025
Viewed by 256
Abstract
Nanotopography refers to the intricate surface characteristics of materials at the sub-micron (<1000 nm) and nanometer (<100 nm) scales. These topographical surface features significantly influence the physical, chemical, and biological properties of biomaterials, affecting their interactions with cells and surrounding tissues. The development [...] Read more.
Nanotopography refers to the intricate surface characteristics of materials at the sub-micron (<1000 nm) and nanometer (<100 nm) scales. These topographical surface features significantly influence the physical, chemical, and biological properties of biomaterials, affecting their interactions with cells and surrounding tissues. The development of nanostructured surfaces of polymeric nanocomposites has garnered increasing attention in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine due to their ability to modulate cellular responses and enhance tissue regeneration. Various top-down and bottom-up techniques, including nanolithography, etching, deposition, laser ablation, template-assisted synthesis, and nanografting techniques, are employed to create structured surfaces on biomaterials. Additionally, nanotopographies can be fabricated using polymeric nanocomposites, with or without the integration of organic and inorganic nanomaterials, through advanced methods such as using electrospinning, layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly, sol–gel processing, in situ polymerization, 3D printing, template-assisted methods, and spin coating. The surface topography of polymeric nanocomposite scaffolds can be tailored through the incorporation of organic nanomaterials (e.g., chitosan, dextran, alginate, collagen, polydopamine, cellulose, polypyrrole) and inorganic nanomaterials (e.g., silver, gold, titania, silica, zirconia, iron oxide). The choice of fabrication technique depends on the desired surface features, material properties, and specific biomedical applications. Nanotopographical modifications on biomaterials’ surface play a crucial role in regulating cell behavior, including adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and migration, which are critical for tissue engineering and repair. For effective tissue regeneration, it is imperative that scaffolds closely mimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM), providing a mechanical framework and topographical cues that replicate matrix elasticity and nanoscale surface features. This ECM biomimicry is vital for responding to biochemical signaling cues, orchestrating cellular functions, metabolic processes, and subsequent tissue organization. The integration of nanotopography within scaffold matrices has emerged as a pivotal regulator in the development of next-generation biomaterials designed to regulate cellular responses for enhanced tissue repair and organization. Additionally, these scaffolds with specific surface topographies, such as grooves (linear channels that guide cell alignment), pillars (protrusions), holes/pits/dots (depressions), fibrous structures (mimicking ECM fibers), and tubular arrays (array of tubular structures), are crucial for regulating cell behavior and promoting tissue repair. This review presents recent advances in the fabrication methodologies used to engineer nanotopographical microenvironments in polymeric nanocomposite tissue scaffolds through the incorporation of nanomaterials and biomolecular functionalization. Furthermore, it discusses how these modifications influence cellular interactions and tissue regeneration. Finally, the review highlights the challenges and future perspectives in nanomaterial-mediated fabrication of nanotopographical polymeric scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biomaterials, Biocomposites and Biopolymers 2025)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop