3rd Annual Conference and Expo on Biomaterials March 05-06, 2018 Berlin, Germany

Biomaterials are the non-drug substances which are designed to interact with the biological system either as a  part of medical device or to  replace or repair any damaged organs or tissues. Biomaterials can be derived either naturally or synthetically. Natural Biomaterials are silk, gelatin, etc. while the Synthetic ones are  the various polymers. Bioceramics like Alumina, Bioglass, Zirconia are used to repair damaged portions of musculoskeletal system and also used in dental and orthopaedic fields. Biocomposites are formed by using resin and natural fibres. It can be non wood natural fibres (rice, wheat, coconut, etc.) or wood fibres (magazines, soft and hard woods). Metals are mainly a choice of biomaterials in fields of dental, orthopaedic, cardiac implants. As metals can lead to wear, corrosion, so surface coating and modification of metals are necessary for medical applications.

Tissue Engineering deals with the study of combining cells, scaffolds or biologically active molecules to form functional tissues or organs, which can be implanted back into the donor host with the use of many engineering an materials methods along with some physicochemical factors. Biomaterial supports the engineered tissues physically, and also guide cells by topographical and chemical signals. Regenerative medicine is a branch of tissue engineering that deals with the process of replacing or regenerating human cells, tissues or organs to restore the normal biological function by using cells, stem cells and biomaterials. Scaffolds are the materials designed to cause cellular interactions that ultimately helps in formation of new tissues. Biomaterials helps in creating new materials for tissue engineering and stem cell delivery. Bone and cartilage tissue engineering is a rapidly advancing field. Bone engineering based on bone graft substitutes and biodegradable scaffolds. Novel approach of this engineering includes periodontal tissue regeneration with mesenchymal stem cells and platelet rich plasma.

Biomaterials are those substances which are introduced into the body as a part of medical devices for medical purposes. These are having many medical applications such as cancer therapy, artificial ligaments and tendons, orthopaedic for joint replacements, bone plates, and ophthalmic applications in contact lenses, for wound healing in the form of surgical sutures, clips, nerve regeneration, in reproductive therapy as breast implants, etc. It is also having some non-medical applications such as to grow cells in culture, assay of blood proteins in laboratories, etc. 

The biomaterials market includes all types of biomaterials such as ceramics, composites, biodegradable, orthopaedic, etc. The market is expected to reach $130.57 billion by 2020, at a growth of CGAR of 16% from 2015-2020 forecast. Biomaterials have applications in the field of oncology i.e, the study of prevention, treatment of cancer. Some biomaterials companies which are included in the global biomaterials market are like Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (U.S.), Bayer AG (Germany), Carpenter Technology Corporation (U.S.), Covalon Technologies Ltd. (Canada), Evonik Industries AG (Germany), BASF SE (Germany), Invibio Ltd. (U.K.), Berkeley Advanced Biomaterials, Inc. (U.S.), CAM Bioceramics BV (Netherlands), and Collagen Matrix, Inc. (U.S.). The global orthopaedic biomaterials market is poised to reach $38,100.2 million by 2020 from $22,074.0 million in 2015 at a CAGR of 11.5% from 2015 to 2020. 

Polymers are the macromolecules obtained from various repeated subunits. Polymers used for biomaterials , can be of following types, i.e., Natural Polymers: Chitosan, Collagen, Alginate. These are used for drug delivery, wound dressing, tissue engineering of organs. Synthetic Polymers: Polyvinylchloride (PVC),Polypropylene, Polymethyl methacrylate.Used in implants, medical disposable supplies, dressings, etc. Biodegradable Biomaterials: Polyactide, Polyglycolide, etc.It is advantageous as it regenerates tissue and does not leave residual traces on implantation. Used for tissue screws, cartilage repair and drug delivery systems.Biopolymers are those polymers which are developed from the living organisms. Examples are DNA, RNA, proteins, carbohydrates, etc. It can also be used as packaging material.Polymer composites are used for preparing medical implants.

Bionanomaterials are molecular materials composed partially or completely of biological molecules and resulting in molecular structures having a Nano-scale-dimension. Magnetic nanomaterials are the magnetic particles of nm size which are having unique magnetic properties. They are available in various forms such as dry powders, as surface functionalized powders or as stable dispersions in a variety of solvents, both aqueous and organic. Such Bionanomaterials may have potential applications as novel fibers , sensors, adhesives etc. Nanobiomaterials accounts for 28.3% of the market share. Nanobiomaterials are used for cancer treatment, regeneration, and polymeric ones act as gene delivery systems. Nanofiber scaffolds are those fibres which are having diameters less than 100 nms. Nano scaffolding is a process to regrow tissue and bone, also used in stem cell expansion.

As biomaterials are mainly used for tissue growth and delivery of drugs, similarly, their properties are also having a great impact on cell growth and proliferation of tissues. Physical properties are like size, shape, surface, compartmentalization, etc. Mechanical properties includes elastic modulus, hardness, fatigue, fracture toughness, etc. Biosensors are the analytical devices which can convert biological responses into electrical signals. Nanotopography means the surface characters that are formed at nanoscopic scale. It is having applications in  the field of medicine and cell engineering.It can be produced by using various techniques such as etching, plasma functionalization, etc. Surface properties includes surface tension, surface characterization, charge - charge interaction, etc. Biohybrid materials  or Bioconjugates are those substances which are produced by linking of biogenic and non- biogenic compounds through chemical bond. Bioinspired materials are the synthetic ones which looks similar to that of the natural materials or living matter in case of structure, function, and properties.

3D bioprinting means formation of a 3 dimensional structure of biomaterials. According to the number of dimensions in nano-scale, the Biomaterials are of three types- 3D (nano-particle), 2D (i.e. nano-fiber), and 1D (nano-sheet). 3D bioprinting is the creation of various cell patterns by using printing techniques along with the layer-by-layer method to form tissue mimetic structures without any loss in cell function that can be further used in tissue engineering. Electrospinning  technology means deposition of polymer nanofibres on an object by using high voltage to a liquid polymer solution. Bioprinting helps in the research of drugs and pills by printing tissues and organs.  It is also used for micro devices and microarrays. The 3D printing materials market is expected to reach USD 1,409.5 Million by 2021 from USD 530.1 Million in 2016, at a CAGR of 21.60%.

Biophotonics is the study of optical processes in biological systems, both those that occur naturally and in bioengineered materials. A particularly important aspect of this field is imaging and sensing cells and tissue. This includes injecting fluorescent markers into a biological system to track cell dynamics and drug delivery. Biophotonics can be used to study biological materials or materials with properties similar to biological material, i.e., scattering material, on a microscopic or macroscopic scale. On the microscopic scale common applications include microscopy and optical coherence tomography. On the macroscopic scale, the light is diffuse and applications commonly deal with diffuse optical imaging and tomography (DOI and DOT). Biomedical optics focuses on the design and application of advanced optical techniques to solve pressing problems in medicine and biology. Biometric optics is truly a university-wide collaboration occuring between many departments, centers and researchers.

A "Bio-based material" as any material produced using current living life forms (rather than non-sustainable non-renewable energy sources that are produced using ancient plants), including horticultural harvests and deposits, trees, and green growth. "Sustainable biomaterials" are those that are (1) sourced from economically developed and gathered cropland or woodlands, (2) fabricated without risky information sources and effects, (3) sound and safe for the earth amid utilize, and (4) intended to be reutilized toward the finish of their planned utilize, for example, by means of reusing or fertilizing the soil.

Biomaterials play a vital role in delivery systems mainly in drug delivery. The design of various drug delivery systems, surgical implants, wound closure devices, artificial organs are mostly depends on the biomaterials. Biomaterials help in gene delivery that ultimately induce transgene expression and tissue growth along with regeneration of tissues. By Immunomodulation i.e, modulating or changing the various aspects of immune system, the potency and efficiency of regenerative medicine therapies can be increased. Nowadays, hydrogels are termed as the smart  drug delivery system, they are mostly used as sustained drug release systems, which has importance in treatment of cancer. Extracellular media or vesicles are used for the macromolecular drug delivery. Biomaterials can also be used for islet delivery, for imaging, etc.

Biodegradable metals are those which are intended to get degraded in the body safely. The metals are either magnesium based or iron based alloys. They are mainly applied for cardiovascular implants as stents and orthopaedics. Hydrogels are the polymeric materials containing water, which are the first biomaterials for human use. They help in tissue engineering, implantable devices, biosensors, materials controlling the activity of enzymes, etc. Degradation of Biomaterials is a serious problem for any medical device whether it is precluding degradation of implantable devices or forecasting the amount of degradation of tissue engineering scaffolds or drug releasing elements. Nanofiber scaffolds are used for orthopaedic tissue repair and regeneration. Biomimetic materials are those which can show cellular responses mediated by scaffold and peptide interactions from extracellular matrix. There are approximately 300 universities, 400 companies and 50 societies working in the field of Bio-degradable materials.