Improving Biocompatibility of Implantable Metals by Nanoscale Modification of Surfaces: An Overview of Strategies, Fabrication Methods, and Challenges

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Germany), 2009-05, Vol.5 (9), p.996-1006
• Main Authors: Variola, Fabio, Vetrone, Fiorenzo, Richert, Ludovic, Jedrzejowski, Pawel, Yi, Ji-Hyun, Zalzal, Sylvia, Clair, Sylvain, Sarkissian, Andranik, Perepichka, Dmitrii F., Wuest, James D., Rosei, Federico, Nanci, Antonio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; biological activity; biomaterials; Cellular Biology; Crystallization - methods; Life Sciences; Macromolecular Substances - chemistry; Materials Testing; medicine; Metals - chemistry; Molecular Conformation; nanomaterials; nanostructures; Nanostructures - chemistry; Nanostructures - ultrastructure; Nanotechnology - methods; Particle Size; Prostheses and Implants; Surface Properties
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.200801186

The human body is an intricate biochemical–mechanical system, with an exceedingly precise hierarchical organization in which all components work together in harmony across a wide range of dimensions. Many fundamental biological processes take place at surfaces and interfaces (e.g., cell–matrix interactions), and these occur on the nanoscale. For this reason, current health‐related research is actively following a biomimetic approach in learning how to create new biocompatible materials with nanostructured features. The ultimate aim is to reproduce and enhance the natural nanoscale elements present in the human body and to thereby develop new materials with improved biological activities. Progress in this area requires a multidisciplinary effort at the interface of biology, physics, and chemistry. In this Review, the major techniques that have been adopted to yield novel nanostructured versions of familiar biomaterials, focusing particularly on metals, are presented and the way in which nanometric surface cues can beneficially guide biological processes, exerting influence on cellular behavior, is illustrated. Frontispiece adapted from Reference 94. The principal techniques adopted to yield novel nanostructured versions of familiar biomaterials, focusing particularly on metals, are reviewed. The image is a schematic representation of an optimal implant surface that is synergistically modified by nanostructuring and molecular functionalization. Cells (fluorescently labeled and not to scale) can benefit from both physico/chemical and molecular signaling to achieve better implant integration in host tissues.