Biomaterials for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering

Biomaterials and biological interfaces are expected to play a key role in promising areas of biotechnology (such as cardiovascular/neurological applications and drug, protein and gene delivery) for the future. Likewise, recent interest in dental/orthopedic applications is being driven by opportunities for improved biomaterial (mechanical) properties. This book focuses on biomaterials development from the perspective of materials design, coupled with tenets from cellular and molecular biology. Wide ranges of materials are investigated, spanning polymers, ceramics, metals, and hybrid materials. Chapters deal with orthopedic/dental biomaterials focus on designing functionalized polymeric, ceramic and composite scaffold; cardiovascular and neurologic biomaterials focus on improvement of hemocompatibility of biomaterials by surface modification strategies, cardiovascular drug delivery and tissue engineering and surface patterning techniques to enhance nerve regeneration and the development of novel biomaterials for stimuli-sensitive delivery, gene delivery and transdermal drug delivery. This volume represents important steps in strengthening the interface between materials science and bioengineering and should help catalyze collaborations that will result in significant new developments in the field of biomaterials.