Greetings, and Welcome!
This blog is the outcome of all the excellent critique, and sometimes nasty comments I have received from my students as part of the evaluations of my Biomaterials class at Stony Brook University. I taught undergraduate and graduate-level Biomaterials courses for ten years (between 2008 and 2018). For the first few years, it was a one-semester graduate-level class. I then started offering it over two semesters for junior and senior undergraduates. Since then, I have replaced my academic hat with an entrepreneurial cap. However, I intend to continue to blog about All Things Biomaterials!
My entry-level Biomaterials course provided an introduction to materials, including metals, ceramics, polymers, composites, coatings, and adhesives used in the human body. It emphasized the physical and chemical properties of materials considered essential to meet the criteria specified for the implant and device applications (e.g., strength, modulus, fatigue and corrosion resistance, etc.), and to be compatible with the biological environment (e.g., nontoxic, noncarcinogenic, etc.).
My advanced level Biomaterials course built on the first one and provides an overview of the applications of biomaterials. Here the emphasis was on the unique challenges in the design, fabrication, and evaluation of biomaterials for a particular application/field. Since biomaterials applications entail their direct or indirect contact with humans, the various practical aspects associated with biomaterials, as well as regulatory guidelines, were also covered.
The issues I have faced related to background knowledge students need to have before they take the introductory class. I consider Biomaterials a tertiary subject. That is, it builds on concepts taught in freshman or sophomore level courses that span variety of fields. Topics may include, but certainly not restricted, to chemistry, metallurgy, ceramic and polymer engineering, molecular and cellular biology. BME freshman and sophomore students may take relevant courses in chemistry and biology, but struggle to connect those concepts to biomaterials synthesis or characterization of physical, chemical or biological properties of biomaterials.
Additionally, for the typical student, this course is the first introduction to concepts in metallurgy, ceramic, and polymer engineering. I had found it difficult to devote sufficient time to cover some fundamental concepts in these allied fields. I also didn’t cover in detail some of the historical developments in this field.
I am going to elaborate on some of these topics via this blog.