Bioactive Devices for Medical Applications

**33**

regeneration

**Chapter 3**

**Abstract**

Nature-Inspired Processes and

Structures: New Paradigms to

for Hard Tissue Regeneration

*Monica Sandri, Andrea Ruffini, Nicola Pugno,* 

*Anna Tampieri and Simone Sprio*

tissues in neurosurgery and orthopedics.

**Keywords:** biomineralization, biomorphic transformation, biomimetic hydroxyapatite, bioactive porous scaffolds, bone regeneration, osteochondral

**1. Introduction: The biomimetic concept in biomaterials science**

Biomimicry in biomaterials science means examining nature, its models, systems, processes, and elements to emulate or take inspiration from in order to solve human problems. The scientific community has now realized that in spite of recent advances, many societal needs are still unmet. Biologically inspired approaches have been particularly attractive in several fields, in over 3.8 billion years of evolution.

Develop Highly Bioactive Devices

*Lorenzo Preti, Barbara Lambiase, Elisabetta Campodoni,* 

Material scientists are increasingly looking to natural structures as inspiration for new-generation functional devices. Particularly in the medical field, the need to regenerate tissue defects claims, since decades, biomaterials with the ability to instruct cells toward formation and organization of new tissue. It is today increasingly accepted that biomimetics is a leading concept for biomaterials development. In fact, there is increasing evidence that the use of biomedical devices showing substantial mimicry of the composition and multi-scale structure of target native tissues have enhanced regenerative ability. As a relevant example, biomimetic materials have high potential to solve degenerative diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system, namely, bone, cartilage and articular tissues, which is of pivotal importance for most of human abilities, such as walking, running, manipulating, and chewing. In this respect, the adoption of nature-inspired processes and structures is an emerging fabrication concept, uniquely able to provide biomaterials with superior biological performance. The chapter will give an overview of the most recent results obtained in the field of hard tissue regeneration by using 3D biomaterials obtained by nature-inspired approaches. The main focus is given to porous hydroxyapatitebased ceramic or hybrid scaffolds for regeneration of bone and osteochondral
