Journey of Biomaterials: From Beginning to Future Development

Abstract

Biomaterials perform an indispensable role in modern medicine as medical devices fabricated by biomaterials are regularly utilized to restore the natural function and promotes healing process after damage or disease. The advancement of biomaterials is an emerging technology and rapidly progressive to address the continually-growing needs in healthcare and medicinal treatments. From first historic use of biomaterials as sutures from animal sinew, there is several folds increase its application due to consistent progression of biomaterials towards the degree of interaction with physiological environment. Three generation of biomaterials are clearly identified by their interaction with the host tissue and marked as bioinert, bioactive & bioresorbable. Present directions of biomaterials are mainly concerned in disease treatments including controlled and targeted drug delivery and cancer immunotherapy, are additionally marked. Thus, modern biomaterials combine medicine, biology, physics, and chemistry to address the challenges faced by biomaterials during its application in medical field and recently influences come from tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. This chapter is focused on the journey of biomaterials from bioinert to bio-functional materials as per the demands of the medical science as well as describe the future trends of biomaterials in modern medicine.