OVERVIEW

Biomaterials or biocompatible materials usually refer to materials capable of interacting profitably with living matter. This teaching provides the fundamentals required to study the biomaterials and their functions in biological systems by describing the different classes of biomaterials, especially the polymeric-based ones, their application uses and the main technological approaches applied in biomedical and pharmacological fields.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching aims to achieve the knowledge of the main chemical, physical, mechanical properties of biomaterials, especially those of polymeric nature. Further goal of the teaching is represented by the acquisition of basics about biofunctionality, biocompatibility and hemocompatibility and on issues related to the interactions between biomaterials and biological systems. Examples of specific applications and development strategies of biomaterials are also provided.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching aims to provide the basic principles underlying biomedical engineering and the production of controlled release devices as well as to develop the student's ability to apply the theoretical knowledge to formulate general criteria for the design, synthesis, functionalization and characterization of innovative materials and systems. At the end of the teaching, the student will be able to:

• know the main classes of polymeric materials employed in biomedical field and properly define their application areas;
• correlate the properties of polymeric materials with their use in biomedical and pharmacological domains;
• correlate the properties of polymeric materials with their biocompatibility/hemocompatibility and suggest general criteria to improve and/or optimize the latter parameters;
• individuate the most suitable characterization techniques of biomaterials according to their specific use;
• analyze the current production technologies to produce biomedical and pharmacological devices according to their specific use;
• express himself with adequate terminology in the description of phenomena and processes involving biomaterials.

PREREQUISITES

No prerequisites, but it may be useful to have previously followed basic teachings on polymers and biological chemistry.

TEACHING METHODS

The teaching consists of traditional lectures for a total of 32 hours, sometimes accompanied with exercises carried out by the teacher in the classroom. Lesson notes are uploaded to the corresponding aul@web simultaneously with their content presentation in the classroom.

In order to facilitate the individual preparation, verification tests are uploaded to the corresponding aul@web page.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Classification of biomaterials.

Polymeric and composite biomaterials.

Biodegradable, bioresorbable and bioactive materials.

Interaction of biomaterials outside of the blood flow: biostability and biocompatibility.

Interaction of biomaterials within the blood flow: hemocompatibility and thrombogenicity.

Analysis of biomaterial surfaces: characterization techniques and treatment/functionalization protocols.

Polymeric biomaterials for orthopedic, dental, and ophthalmological devices.

Polymeric biomaterials for soft tissues.

Polymeric biomaterials for cardiovascular devices.

Regenerative medical science: tissue engineering and biomimetic materials.

Mono-, bi-, and tridimensional scaffolds for tissue architecture: materials and fabrication techniques.

Controlled drug delivery systems (DDS).

Current regulations related to biocompatibility matter and main evaluation tests.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

R. Pietrabissa, “Biomateriali per Protesi e Organi Artificiali”, Patron Ed. Bologna, 1996 (CSB Ingegneria)

R. Fumero, P. Giusti, “Biomateriali: dalla ricerca di base all’applicazione clinica”, Patron Ed., Bologna, 1985 (CSB Ingegneria)

C. Di Bello, “Biomateriali-Introduzione allo Studio”, Patron Ed., Bologna, 2005

A. Atala, “Principles of regenerative medicine”, 2nd edition, London: Academic, 2010

“Perspectives on biomaterials: proceedings on the 1985 International Symposium on Biomaterials”, O.C.C- Lin & E.Y.S. Chao, Eds., 1985 (CSB Valletta Puggia)

J.B. Park, R.S. Lakes, “Biomaterials-An Introduction”, Springer-Verlag, N.Y. Inc., 2007

A.F. von Recum, “Handbook of Biomaterials Evaluation: Scientific, Technical and Clinical Testing of Implant Materials”, CRC Press, 1999 (ISBN 1560324791)

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

MARINA ALLOISIO (President)

MASSIMO OTTONELLI

MAILA CASTELLANO (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Teaching is held during the second semester, starting on February 22nd, 2021, according to the timetable indicated in the links below.

SINCE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PROVIDE A DEFINITIVE LESSONS SCHEDULE NOW DUE TO THE COVID EMERGENCY AND PROVISIONS RELEASED BY UNIGE CONCERNING THE TEACHING ACTIVITY IN PHASE 3, WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT STUDENTS FREQUENTLY VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES FOR AN UPDATE.

https://corsi.unige.it/9020/p/studenti-orario

https://chimica.unige.it/node/390

TO BE UPDATED ON THIS TOPICS

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam is an oral examination conducted by two teachers including the teacher in charge for a duration of at least 30 minutes. During the calendar year, seven exam dates are set up in the time intervals scheduled by the Manifesto degli Studi and available at the link:

https://corsi.unige.it/9020/p/studenti-calendario-esami

The oral examination consists of two parts; both of them are awarded a maximum rating of 15/30 for the exam evaluation:

- in the first part the student has to face a problem with the use of polymeric materials in the biomedical field in order to verify his comprehension and mastery of the course topics as well as his ability to apply theoretical concepts to real situations. Alternatively, and only by the student's choice, the first part of the exam can cover a topic, chosen by the student himself and approved by the teacher in charge, which is related to the course but not included in the program. In the latter case, the exam is subordinated to the delivery of a report on the subject, according to the terms fixed by the teacher.

- in the second part, the student is called upon to answer questions related to topics of the teaching program, chosen by the exam committee.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Goal of the assessment is to verify the student's ability to correlate the potentialities of the various biomaterials with their chemical, physical mechanical and thermal properties. If the learning outcomes are not achieved, the student is invited to deepen his preparation also by taking advantage of further explanations by the teacher before repeating the exam.

Moreover, the oral exam will avail to verify the achievement of the appropriate level of knowledge of the topics developed during the lectures and the language skills. The student’s ability to compare and integrate the data available from different characterization and processing techniques included in the teaching program will also be evaluated.

As a quality assurance, the detailed program of the course is uploaded to the corresponding aul@web page, so that students can verify the correspondence between topics and learning outcomes.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Attendance to the lectures is strongly recommended to become familiar with the examination procedures, since the frontal lessons are always accompanied by concrete examples related to daily life and industrial practice.