ABSTRACT
Advances in chemistry, physics, engineering, and material sciences have enabled the preparation, synthesis, and manufacturing of materials on the nanometer scale, which oŸers tremendous opportunities to control material properties, to mimic hierarchical structures of biological composites by engineered materials, and to adjust interactions of a material with biological molecules or a biological system (Zhang and Webster 2009). —e pre™x “nano” in nanomaterials typically de™nes structures that are smaller than 100 nm in at least one dimension. Due to a very large surface-to-volume ratio, the unique properties of nanomaterials originate from cohesive and/or adhesive interactions at the surface of the material in combination with the materials’ bulk properties. In contrast, the properties of materials at a larger size scale are dominated almost exclusively by their bulk characteristics. —e surface of nanoceramics, for example, is more active in terms of dissolution and recrystallization processes and the interaction with organic
3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................... 3-1 3.2 Ceramic Nanobiomaterials ............................................................. 3-2
3.6 Conclusion and Perspective ..........................................................3-30 Acknowledgment ........................................................................................3-30 References ....................................................................................................3-30
molecules as compared to micrometer-sized crystallites. Also, ceramics, which in general suŸer from low elasticity, may oŸer signi™cant ductility before failure when synthesized at the nanoscale (Karch et al. 1987). Nanoscaled ceramics can be sintered at a lower temperature, which reduces processing problems associated with high temperature. Due to strong interactions with organic molecules, nano-sized ceramics can exhibit bioactivity and aŸect the adhesion, proliferation, and diŸerentiation of cells in direct contact (Webster et al. 1999; LeGeros 2008).
