Nanofibers and Nanosurfaces
Pearlin Hameed, Vignesh K. Manivasagam, Magesh Sankar, Ketul C. Popat,
and Geetha Manivasagam
Abstract Medical implants are developed to replace the diseased or fractured hard
and soft tissues. Materials scientist and clinicians initially opted for materials which
exhibited high strength, non-toxic behaviour and inert as they are not any rejection by
the human body. However, with time, the failures of these materials were encountered
as their properties were not close to that of human tissues (Sakka and Coulthard in
Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal 16:e42–e44, 2011). Developing the right environment
for cells to grow with the necessary biomolecules is the major focus and to achieve
this scaffolds are being developed with various materials ranging from polymers
to ceramics using different processes. Advancements in characterization techniques
has thrown more light on the structure of human tissues and bone. Studies have
shown that the unique properties of bone were attributed to its micro/nanostructures
formed by the nanostructured collagen and apatite crystals (Palmer et al. in Chem
Rev 108:4754–4783, 2008; Perez et al. in J Tissue Eng Regen Med 7:353–361, 2013).
In order to mimic the bone, materials were modified at micro/nano level both at the
bulk and surface level. Studies have also revealed that materials with nanograins have
superior osseointegration capability when compared to conventional micron materials (Thakral et al. in J Clin Diagn Res 8:ZE07–ZE10, 2014). Surface characteristics
such as surface chemistry, topography, roughness, stiffness and surface charge influenced the biocompatibility [Ferrari et al. in Colloids Interfaces 3:48, 2019). This
understanding led to development of several nanomaterials for biomedical applications. In the case of metals, several processing techniques were developed to form
nano grained materials, whereas, in polymers, various nanofibers were prepared and
tested for their bioactivity. This chapter presents some of the important surface properties and their influence on the biocompatibility and describes the effect of nano
versus micron surfaces on the cellular attachment.
P. Hameed · V. K. Manivasagam · M. Sankar · G. Manivasagam (B)
Centre for Biomaterials Cellular and Molecular Theranostics (CBCMT), Vellore Institute of
Technology (VIT), Vellore 632 014, TN, India
e-mail: geethamanivasagam@vit.ac.in
K. C. Popat
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, School of Advanced
Materials Discovery, Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins, CO, USA
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
T. S. Santra and L. Mohan (eds.), Nanomaterials and Their Biomedical Applications,
Springer Series in Biomaterials Science and Engineering 16,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6252-9_4
107
Pearlin Hameed, Vignesh K. Manivasagam, Magesh Sankar, Ketul C. Popat,
and Geetha Manivasagam
Abstract Medical implants are developed to replace the diseased or fractured hard
and soft tissues. Materials scientist and clinicians initially opted for materials which
exhibited high strength, non-toxic behaviour and inert as they are not any rejection by
the human body. However, with time, the failures of these materials were encountered
as their properties were not close to that of human tissues (Sakka and Coulthard in
Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal 16:e42–e44, 2011). Developing the right environment
for cells to grow with the necessary biomolecules is the major focus and to achieve
this scaffolds are being developed with various materials ranging from polymers
to ceramics using different processes. Advancements in characterization techniques
has thrown more light on the structure of human tissues and bone. Studies have
shown that the unique properties of bone were attributed to its micro/nanostructures
formed by the nanostructured collagen and apatite crystals (Palmer et al. in Chem
Rev 108:4754–4783, 2008; Perez et al. in J Tissue Eng Regen Med 7:353–361, 2013).
In order to mimic the bone, materials were modified at micro/nano level both at the
bulk and surface level. Studies have also revealed that materials with nanograins have
superior osseointegration capability when compared to conventional micron materials (Thakral et al. in J Clin Diagn Res 8:ZE07–ZE10, 2014). Surface characteristics
such as surface chemistry, topography, roughness, stiffness and surface charge influenced the biocompatibility [Ferrari et al. in Colloids Interfaces 3:48, 2019). This
understanding led to development of several nanomaterials for biomedical applications. In the case of metals, several processing techniques were developed to form
nano grained materials, whereas, in polymers, various nanofibers were prepared and
tested for their bioactivity. This chapter presents some of the important surface properties and their influence on the biocompatibility and describes the effect of nano
versus micron surfaces on the cellular attachment.
P. Hameed · V. K. Manivasagam · M. Sankar · G. Manivasagam (B)
Centre for Biomaterials Cellular and Molecular Theranostics (CBCMT), Vellore Institute of
Technology (VIT), Vellore 632 014, TN, India
e-mail: geethamanivasagam@vit.ac.in
K. C. Popat
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, School of Advanced
Materials Discovery, Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins, CO, USA
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
T. S. Santra and L. Mohan (eds.), Nanomaterials and Their Biomedical Applications,
Springer Series in Biomaterials Science and Engineering 16,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6252-9_4
107