Piezoelectric Materials for Biomedical Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Functional biomedical materials that actively communicate with the body, e.g., by monitoring body functions or promoting full tissue recovery, are highly desirable in terms of patients’ life quality. Among the broad variety of functional materials, piezoelectric systems stand out with their ability to convert mechanical stress into electric surface potentials as well as electric fields into mechanical strain. This characteristic makes them interesting for a broad variety of biomedical needs, e.g., for pressure sensors, cell stimulation, drug delivery or energy harvesting.

While piezoelectric materials are established components in many functional applications outside the biomedical field, their great potential for functional biomedical applications has just become apparent in recent years. However, the complexity of the interplay between a specific body environment and an artificial material in terms of, e.g., chemical toxicity, microstructural compatibility, and implant functionality provides a significant challenge for the development of reliably functional piezoelectric implants. The questions to be solved are of interdisciplinary nature, and expertise from the medical fields as well as from materials research has to be brought together to make piezoelectric materials useful for biomedical devices beyond the laboratory bench.

This Special Issue aims to provide an overview of the current research on piezoelectric materials for biomedical applications covering all aspects from material development, microstructural optimization, and implant design to in vitro and in vivo studies. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Assoc. Prof. Julia Glaum
Guest Editor

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• piezoelectrics
• bulk ceramics
• coatings
• thin films
• microstructure
• toxicity
• biocompatibility
• ion release
• cell stimulation
• energy harvesting
• sensors