Biomaterials

 

Responsible

Piedad N de Aza Moya

 

RESEARCH SUMMARY

Biomaterials are widely used today in all clinical specialties and include all classes and subclasses of materials. They have an important place in the modern economy and in society due to a growing demand. The main reason for this is the increase in life expectancy and the morbidity of injuries caused by traffic accidents, sports and armed conflicts. These traumas, in general, seriously damage living organs that must be totally or partially replaced with materials that maintain their functional or structural properties.
Despite the large number of developments in the field of biomaterial science and technology in recent years, there is currently no biomaterial capable of fully reproducing the characteristics and functions of the original organ or tissue that it replaces.
The purpose of this group have a great social impact such as improving the health and quality of life of the population through the design and obtaining of new biomaterials.

RESEARCH LINES

 

PHASE EQUILIBRIUM DIAGRAMS IN OXIDE SYSTEMS

Research activities are mainly based on the theoretical and experimental study of phase equilibrium diagrams. We are dedicated to increasing the basic knowledge of thermodynamics, synthesis, processing, properties and service performance of ceramic materials. Work in the field of bioceramics for bone engineering and guided bone regeneration, which applied the knowledge in phase equilibrium diagrams, were stared in 1995. The research group accumulates more than 20 years of experience in the use of phase transformation techniques based on differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, for studies of solid state reactions and transformation mechanisms. 

Silicocarnotite-phase A subsystem and material with eutectoid microstructure.

 

DEVELOPMENT OF 3D OPTIMIZED SCAFFOLDS

We develop new materials capable of solving various bone problems. 3D structures with interconnected porosity meet general requirements such as allowing cell migration, diffusion of debris and nutrients. Furthermore, depending on the chemical composition of the 3D structure, it is possible to obtain excellent in vitro bioactivity and in vivo biocompatibility.
Our group, based on the knowledge acquired in the development of dense materials, began with the development of monocompositional materials, trying to unify mechanical resistance with bioactivity. Thus we develop 3D ceramics with different microstructures using the polymeric replica technique. We also obtain multicompositional 3D structures, composed of a core, made up of a composition that provides mechanical resistance to the material (between 0.9 – 1.8MPa), which in turn is covered by various layers of composition other than the heart, responsible for modulating the bioactivity of the material. The external layers can have the same composition or change the composition from layer to layer, with which a material with different compositions can be obtained, where the first gives the 3D structure mechanical properties and the upper layers modulate the bioactivity, depending on the requirements of the patient, whether male or female.

Schematic representation of a 3D multilayer scaffold and 3D ceramic material

 

BONE TISSUE ENGINEERING 

One of the challenges of the 21st century in biomedicine is to achieve materials capable of stimulating the regeneration and repair of damaged bone tissues. In bone tissue engineering, a new generation of multifunctional materials is needed that temporarily act to support and stimulate the adhesion, differentiation and colonization of osteoprogenitor cells and that promote vascularization. These materials must be capable of acting as carriers of osteoinductive factors and that promote angiogenesis and / or drugs with a therapeutic action, at the same time that they dose their release to the biological environment. New scaffolds must have an initial mechanical strength similar to that of the tissue they replace, and degrade at the implantation site at a rate similar to that at which the new tissue grows.
With this objective in mind, we proceed to design, process, prepare, characterize and study in vitro and in vivo custom materials, in the form of granules, cements or scaffolds, with high interconnected macroporosity, which allow the adjustment of the bioresorbability and release rate of trace elements and / or active principles, all in order to modulate their osteoinductive and / or angiogenic capacity.

Comparison between a 3D ceramic material and a natural cancellous bone

 

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Responsible

Piedad N de Aza Moya

 

RESEARCH SUMMARY

Biomaterials are widely used today in all clinical specialties and include all classes and subclasses of materials. They have an important place in the modern economy and in society due to a growing demand. The main reason for this is the increase in life expectancy and the morbidity of injuries caused by traffic accidents, sports and armed conflicts. These traumas, in general, seriously damage living organs that must be totally or partially replaced with materials that maintain their functional or structural properties.

Despite the large number of developments in the field of biomaterial science and technology in recent years, there is currently no biomaterial capable of fully reproducing the characteristics and functions of the original organ or tissue that it replaces. The purpose of this group has a great social impact such as improving the health and quality of life of the population through the design and obtention of new biomaterials.

 

RESEARCH LINES

 

Line1: Biomaterials phase equilibrium diagrams in oxide systems

Research activities are mainly based on the theoretical and experimental study of phase equilibrium diagrams. We are dedicated to increasing the basic knowledge of thermodynamics, synthesis, processing, properties and service performance of ceramic materials. Work in the field of bioceramics for bone engineering and guided bone regeneration, which applied the knowledge in phase equilibrium diagrams, were stared in 1995. The research group accumulates more than 20 years of experience in the use of phase transformation techniques based on differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, for studies of solid state reactions and transformation mechanisms. 

Silicocarnotite-phase A subsystem and material with eutectoid microstructure.

 

 

 

Line2: Development of 3D optimized scaffolds

We develop new materials capable of solving various bone problems. 3D structures with interconnected porosity meet general requirements such as allowing cell migration, diffusion of debris and nutrients. Furthermore, depending on the chemical composition of the 3D structure, it is possible to obtain excellent in vitro bioactivity and in vivo biocompatibility.

Our group, based on the knowledge acquired in the development of dense materials, began with the development of monocompositional materials, trying to unify mechanical resistance with bioactivity. Thus we develop 3D ceramics with different microstructures using the polymeric replica technique. We also obtain multicompositional 3D structures, composed of a core, made up of a composition that provides mechanical resistance to the material (between 0.9 – 1.8MPa), which in turn is covered by various layers of composition other than the heart, responsible for modulating the bioactivity of the material. The external layers can have the same composition or change the composition from layer to layer, with which a material with different compositions can be obtained, where the first gives the 3D structure mechanical properties and the upper layers modulate the bioactivity, depending on the requirements of the patient, whether male or female.

 

Schematic representation of a 3D multilayer scaffold and 3D ceramic material

 

 

Line3: Bone tissue engineering 

One of the challenges of the 21st century in biomedicine is to achieve materials capable of stimulating the regeneration and repair of damaged bone tissues. In bone tissue engineering, a new generation of multifunctional materials is needed that temporarily act to support and stimulate the adhesion, differentiation and colonization of osteoprogenitor cells and that promote vascularization. These materials must be capable of acting as carriers of osteoinductive factors and that promote angiogenesis and / or drugs with a therapeutic action, at the same time that they dose their release to the biological environment. New scaffolds must have an initial mechanical strength similar to that of the tissue they replace, and degrade at the implantation site at a rate similar to that at which the new tissue grows.

With this objective in mind, we proceed to design, process, prepare, characterize and study in vitro and in vivo custom materials, in the form of granules, cements or scaffolds, with high interconnected macroporosity, which allow the adjustment of the bioresorbability and release rate of trace elements and / or active principles, all in order to modulate their osteoinductive and / or angiogenic capacity.

Comparison between a 3D ceramic material and a natural cancellous bone

 

 

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