BIOMATERIALS, ARTIFICIAL

ORGANS & REGENERATIVE

MEDICINE
BHAHAT LAWLLEY ZIMBA (UCE, BSc. BMS, MSc. BME)
[email protected]
MALAWI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
 PROPERTIES OF BIOMATERIALS
• Biomaterial implants and devices have performance requirements that originate
from the properties of the materials.
• The properties of Biomaterials can be categorized into:
a) Mechanical (Physical) properties
b) Biological (Functional) properties
• The mechanical properties are mainly defined by the stress and strength on the
biomaterials while the biological properties are mainly defined by the
microstructure, chemical properties and the interaction of the biomaterials with the
host tissue.
Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BIOMATERIALS

• For any material to be classified for biomedical application there are many
requirements must be met.
• One of these requirement is the material should be mechanically sound.
• For the replacement of load bearing structures, the material should possess
equivalent or greater mechanical stability to ensure high reliability of the graft.

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
• Types of forces that can be applied to
material:
a) Tensile
b) Compressive
c) Shear
d) Torsion

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
• When force is applied as tensile, compressive, or shear, the parameters
measured are Engineering stress (σ) and Engineering strain (ԑ).
❖ σ = F/A0 : force applied perpendicular to the cross section of sample
❖ ԑ = (li-l0)/l0: l0 is the length of sample before loading, li is the length
during testing
• For biomaterials subjected to compressive forces during operation (E.g.
Orthopedic implants), Stress and strain equations are the same as for
tensile testing except force is taken negative and l0 larger than li.
• In this case, negative stress and strain are obtained

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
• In shear testing, the forces are parallel to top and bottom faces.
❖ shear stress (τ) = F/A0
❖ shear strain (γ)= tanθ ; θ is the deformation angle.
• In some cases, torsion forces may be applied to sample instead of
pure shear

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
 ELASTIC MODULUS
• Elastic modulus is simply defined as the ratio of stress to strain within the
proportional limit.
• Physically, it represents the stiffness of a material within the elastic range
when tensile or compressive load are applied.
• It is clinically important because it indicates the selected biomaterial has
similar deformable properties with the material it is going to replace.

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
• These force-bearing materials require high elastic modulus with low
deflection.
• As the elastic modulus of material increases fracture resistance
decreases.
• The elastic modulus of a material is generally calculated by bending
test because deflection can be easily measured in this case as
compared to very small elongation in compressive or tensile load.

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
 HARDNESS
• Hardness is a measure of plastic deformation and is defined as the force
per unit area of indentation or penetration.
• Hardness is one of the most important parameters for comparing properties
of materials.
• It is used for finding the suitability of the clinical use of biomaterials and
has the positive effect on the mechanical degradation resistance.

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
• Higher hardness resulted in less abrasion.
• Biomaterial samples are very small therefore, micro and nano scale
hardness tests (diamond knoop and vickers indenters) are used.
• It is rather difficult to use a traditional hardness test for ceramics and
glasses due to their nonyielding nature (no Plastic deformation).

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
 FRACTURE STRENGTH
• Strength of materials is defined as the maximum stresses that can be endured
before fracture occurs.
• Strength of biomaterials (bioceramics) is an important mechanical property
because they are brittle in nature.
• In the brittle material (bioceramics) cracks are easily propagated in tensile load
therefore, it is more critical than the compressive load.
• A number of method are available to determine the tensile strength of material
such as bending flexural test, biaxial flexural strength test, weibull approach.

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
• In bioceramics, flaws influence the reliability and strength of the biomaterial
during the implantation and fabrication.
• The strength of brittle materials depends on the size of flaws distributed
throughout the material.
• Strength also depends on the volume of a specimen since flaw size is limited to
the size of the specimen’s cross-section.
• Therefore, the smaller the specimen (E.g. Fibers), the higher the fracture strength.

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
 FRACTURE TOUGHNESS

• Fracture toughness is required to alter the crack propagation in ceramics.

• It helps evaluate the serviceability, performance and long term clinical success of
the biomaterial.
• It is reported that the high fracture toughness of the material improves clinical
performance and reliability as compare to low fracture toughness.
• Fracture toughness can be measured by different methods. E.g. Indentation
fracture, indentation strength, single edge notched beam, single edge pre cracked
beam and double cantilever beam.

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
 BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
• Biomaterial surface is extremely important in determining the biological response.
• The surface structure play an important role in attract the cells and tissue to
respond with the materials.
• Biomaterial surfaces exhibit remarkable heterogeneity in physical structure:
❖ Material dependant: metals vs. Polymers vs. Ceramics vs. Gels
❖ Chemistry: polar vs. Apolar, charge, reactivity, patterned
❖ Morphology: smooth, rough, stepped, patterned, diffuse
❖ Order: crystalline, amorphous, semi-crystalline, phases
❖ Environment: hydration, solvent quality
Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
• The surface roughness and smoothness, chemical composition, and the
crystalinity are also crucial in determining the functional properties of
biomaterials.
• Surface properties of biomaterials affect:
❖ Protein adsorption to materials
❖ Blood coagulation/thrombosis due to material contact
❖ Cellular response to materials

Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology
Bhahat Lawlley Zimba; UCE, BSc BMS, MSc BME; Malawi University of Science & Technology