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      The Use of Nanoscaled Fibers or Tubes to Improve Biocompatibility and Bioactivity of Biomedical Materials

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          Abstract

          Nanofibers and nanotubes have recently gained substantial interest for potential applications in tissue engineering due to their large ratio of surface area to volume and unique microstructure. It has been well proved that the mechanical property of matrix could be largely enhanced by the addition of nanoscaled fibers or tubes. At present, more and more researches have shown that the biocompatibility and bioactivity of biomedical materials could be improved by the addition of nanofibers or nanotubes. In this review, the efforts using nanofibers and nanotubes to improve biocompatibility and bioactivity of biomedical materials, including polymeric nanofibers/nanotubes, metallic nanofibers/nanotubes, and inorganic nanofibers/nanotubes, as well as their researches related, are demonstrated in sequence. Furthermore, the possible mechanism of improving biocompatibility and bioactivity of biomedical materials by nanofibers or nanotubes has been speculated to be that the specific protein absorption on the nanoscaled fibers or tubes plays important roles.

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          Most cited references110

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          A review of chitin and chitosan applications

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            Electrospinning: a fascinating method for the preparation of ultrathin fibers.

            Electrospinning is a highly versatile method to process solutions or melts, mainly of polymers, into continuous fibers with diameters ranging from a few micrometers to a few nanometers. This technique is applicable to virtually every soluble or fusible polymer. The polymers can be chemically modified and can also be tailored with additives ranging from simple carbon-black particles to complex species such as enzymes, viruses, and bacteria. Electrospinning appears to be straightforward, but is a rather intricate process that depends on a multitude of molecular, process, and technical parameters. The method provides access to entirely new materials, which may have complex chemical structures. Electrospinning is not only a focus of intense academic investigation; the technique is already being applied in many technological areas.
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              On the mechanisms of biocompatibility.

              The manner in which a mutually acceptable co-existence of biomaterials and tissues is developed and sustained has been the focus of attention in biomaterials science for many years, and forms the foundation of the subject of biocompatibility. There are many ways in which materials and tissues can be brought into contact such that this co-existence may be compromised, and the search for biomaterials that are able to provide for the best performance in devices has been based upon the understanding of all the interactions within biocompatibility phenomena. Our understanding of the mechanisms of biocompatibility has been restricted whilst the focus of attention has been long-term implantable devices. In this paper, over 50 years of experience with such devices is analysed and it is shown that, in the vast majority of circumstances, the sole requirement for biocompatibility in a medical device intended for long-term contact with the tissues of the human body is that the material shall do no harm to those tissues, achieved through chemical and biological inertness. Rarely has an attempt to introduce biological activity into a biomaterial been clinically successful in these applications. This essay then turns its attention to the use of biomaterials in tissue engineering, sophisticated cell, drug and gene delivery systems and applications in biotechnology, and shows that here the need for specific and direct interactions between biomaterials and tissue components has become necessary, and with this a new paradigm for biocompatibility has emerged. It is believed that once the need for this change is recognised, so our understanding of the mechanisms of biocompatibility will markedly improve.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal of Nanomaterials
                Journal of Nanomaterials
                Hindawi Limited
                1687-4110
                1687-4129
                2013
                2013
                : 2013
                :
                : 1-16
                Article
                10.1155/2013/728130
                0554c11f-28cc-4f40-b05e-d4768729d6cd
                © 2013

                http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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