Harnessing Biomaterials in Nanomedicine

Abstract

Asha Srinivasan

Biomaterials are substances that are engineered to form them suitable for interaction with a biological system. Biomaterial constructs and self-assemblies have been explored for drug and protein carriers, cell engineering and tissue scaffolds, or to manage the interactions between artificial devices and the body, just to make some examples of the more recent developments. Biomaterials involves not only synthetic materials (polymers, ceramics and composites), but also biological materials such as proteins, cells and tissues. The range of applications for biomaterials is rapidly increasing, with different physical, mechanical and medical properties required for various applications.