Biomineralization From Fundamentals To Biomaterials Environmental Issues

Collection of selected, peer reviewed papers from the Special topic volume with invited peer reviewed papers only. The 25 papers are grouped as follows: Chapter 1: From Microbes to Molluscs: Non-Vertebrate Models in Biomineralization; Chapter 2: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Proteomics for Studying Biominerals; Chapter 3: Biomaterials for Biomedical Application; Chapter 4: Biominerals as Sentinels for Environmental Studies

Biomineralization is a natural process by which living organisms form minerals in association with organic biostructures to form hybrid biological materials such as bone, enamel, dentine and nacre among others. Scientists have researched the fundamentals of these processes and the unique structures and properties of the resulting mineralized tissues. Inspired by them, new biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have been developed in recent years. Biomineralization and biomaterials: fundamentals and applications looks at the characteristics of these essential processes and natural materials and describes strategies and technologies to biomimetically design and produce biomaterials with improved biological performance. Provides a thorough overview of the biomineralization process Presents the most recent information on the natural process by which crystals in tissues form into inorganic structures such as bone, teeth, and other natural mineralized tissues Investigates methods for improving mineralization Explores new techniques that will help improve the biomimetic process

This open access book is the proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Biomineralization (BIOMIN XIV) held in 2017 at Tsukuba. Over the past 45 years, biomineralization research has unveiled details of the characteristics of the nano-structure of various biominerals; the formation mechanism of this nano-structure, including the initial stage of crystallization; and the function of organic matrices in biominerals, and this knowledge has been applied to dental, medical, pharmaceutical, materials, agricultural and environmental sciences and paleontology. As such, biomineralization is an important interdisciplinary research area, and further advances are expected in both fundamental and applied research.

The development of materials for any replacement or regeneration application should be based on the thorough understanding of the structure to be substituted. This is true in many fields, but particularly exigent in substitution and regeneration medicine. The demands upon the material properties largely depend on the site of application and the function it has to restore. Ideally, a replacement material should mimic the living tissue from a mechanical, chemical, biological and functional point of view. Of course this is much easier to write down than to implement in clinical practice. Mineralized tissues such as bones, tooth and shells have attracted, in the last few years, considerable interest as natural anisotropic composite structures with adequate mechanical properties. In fact, Nature is and will continue to be the best materials scientist ever. Who better than nature can design complex structures and control the intricate phenomena (processing routes) that lead to the final shape and structure (from the macro to the nano level) of living creatures? Who can combine biological and physico-chemical mechanisms in such a way that can build ideal structure-properties relationships? Who, else than Nature, can really design smart structural components that respond in-situ to exterior stimulus, being able of adapting constantly their microstructure and correspondent properties? In the described philosophy line, mineralized tissues and biomineralization processes are ideal examples to learn-from for the materials scientist of the future.

Biomineralization is a hot topic in the area of materials, and this volume in the Metals Ions in Life Sciences series takes a systematic approach, dealing with all aspects from the fundamentals to applications. Key biological features of biomineralization, such as gene directed growth and the role of enzymes are covered, as are new areas, including copper/zinc in the jaws of invertebrates or magnetic biomaterials that help birds with navigation

This open access book is the proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Biomineralization (BIOMIN XIV) held in 2017 at Tsukuba. Over the past 45 years, biomineralization research has unveiled details of the characteristics of the nano-structure of various biominerals; the formation mechanism of this nano-structure, including the initial stage of crystallization; and the function of organic matrices in biominerals, and this knowledge has been applied to dental, medical, pharmaceutical, materials, agricultural and environmental sciences and paleontology. As such, biomineralization is an important interdisciplinary research area, and further advances are expected in both fundamental and applied research.

This text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students covers the fundamental relationships between the structure and properties of materials and biological tissues. The successful integration of material and biological properties, shape, and architecture to engineer a wide range of optimized designs for specific functions is the ultimate aim of a biomaterials scientist. Relevant examples illustrate the intrinsic and tailored properties of metal, ceramic, polymeric, carbon-derived, composite, and naturally derived biomaterials. Fundamentals of Biomaterials is written in a single voice, ensuring clarity and continuity of the text and content. As a result, the reader will be gradually familiarized with the field, starting with materials and their properties and eventually leading to critical interactions with the host environment. Classical and novel examples illuminate topics from basic material properties to tissue engineering, nanobiomaterials, and guided tissue regeneration. This comprehensive and engaging text: integrates materials and biological properties to understand biomaterials function and design provides the basics of biological tissue components and hierarchy includes recent topics from tissue engineering and guided tissue regeneration to nanoarchitecture of biomaterials and their surfaces contains perspectives/case studies from widely-recognized experts in the field features chapter-ending summaries to help readers to identify the key, take-home messages.