Biomaterials and Biocompatibility

This course serves as an engineering introduction to the field of biomaterials and biocompatibility, assuming some background in biology and organic chemistry. The first part of the class covers the structure and properties of materials used as biomaterials including ceramics, metals, synthetic polymers and natural materials. The structures, chemistry and surface morphology of these materials and how these factors ultimately define the biocompatibility of a material are reviewed. The second part of the course covers host reactions to biomaterials and emphasizes on common clinical applications of biomaterials. The process of material selection for biocompatibility is introduced with regards to body responses including cell and tissue interaction, immunological responses and toxicity and safety. Students are presented with problems of property characterization, failure analysis and performance testing. Design criteria, material selection, performance, property retention, stability and typical failure modes are presented.