A way to develop the highly functional and intelligent interface between biomaterials and living tissue

Abstract

Biomaterials used for the implant apparatus including dental implants should have the interface to the living tissues. Control of bioreaction of the living tissues adjacent to the implants by the biomaterials used for the implants is the most important and essential factors for the success of the treatment. Introducing various surface modification and fabrication of the biomaterials could have provided a variety of bioactivities for implants, especially for the dental implants. Osseointegration; i.e. titanium and titanium alloy can combine firmly to bone, is widely applied to bone implants and dental implants. Many attempts have been progressing for improving the osseointegration abilities. For further development of the implant treatment, it is needed to introduce innovative features on the interface between biomaterial and living tissues. Highly-functional interface, named by Inter-University Research Project 2007-2011 "Highly-functional Interface Science: Innovation of Biomaterials with Highly-functional Interface to Host and Parasite", MEXT, Japan is one of the feasible concepts, which involves biocontrollability, mechanical biocompatibility, self-organizing ability, and so on. Further innovative idea is the interface equipping the highly-function and autonomic intelligence, namely the intelligent interface, which should be self-organizing and self-governing interface containing the self-organizing and self-governing of interface function, activation of host-biomaterial interaction and stabilization of parasite-biomaterial interaction, and also life-long function.