Preparation and Characterization of Biomedical and Biomimetic Materials

Dear Colleagues,

Due to many recent advances in materials synthesis and characterization techniques, biomedical engineering has exhibited significant progress in the recent years. In particular, this new generation of biomaterials has prompted significant developments in various biomedical fields, including regenerative medicine, diagnosis, and therapeutics. This broad range of interdisciplinary fields has demanded a greater diversity and scope of research in biomaterials, such as natural or synthetic polymers, ceramics , metals, and alloys.  

Responding to the challenges of our modern society in terms of the contribution of materials to health and wellbeing requires a continued effort to consolidate and expand the pool of knowledge in this area. The design of biodegradable scaffolds, aiming to develop new or regenerate and repair damaged or diseased tissues while combining engineered materials with cells and suitable biochemical and physicochemical factors, is among the recent successful achievements in the field of tissue engineering. Furthermore, research into biomimetic materials is growing rapidly and becoming a promising field: taking inspiration from nature, materials with structures, properties, or functions mimicking those of natural or living matter are being designed and used in the development of engineered tissues. The example of 3D biomimetic scaffolds, which simulate the architecture of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and enable cells to accelerate the regeneration of tissue is an important milestone where new and promising developments are anticipated. 

Biomaterials have also been shown to offer novel approaches for therapeutic and diagnosis purposes. Indeed, nanoparticle (NP) synthesis methodologies can provide a broad range of nanoscale agents with both therapeutic and diagnostic functions. Through proper functionalization, NPs may become valuable imaging tools or perform local treatments such as photothermal therapy or magnetic hyperthermia or even drug delivery. Such theranostic (Therapeutic + Diagnostic) technologies have enormous potential for monitoring the treatment of oncologic diseases while contributing to improving patients’ comfort and wellbeing.  

This Special Issue aims to collect the most recent advances in the development of biomedical and biomimetic materials and covers all the key areas related to the concept, design, fabrication, characterization, and clinical use of those materials. The targeted materials include all the biomaterial types with a focus on synthesis methods and characterization.

We invite all colleagues to submit manuscripts (full papers, communications reviews, or short notes) in open access to this Special Issue. We also encourage the dissemination of this invitation to any colleagues who might be interested.

Prof. Dr. Margarida Almeida
Dr. Eamonn de Barra
Dr. Maria Elisabete Jorge Vieira Costa
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2600 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.