ABSTRACT
CONTENTS 4.1 Introduction 94 4.2Atomic Structure and Interatomic Bonding94
4.2.1Primary Bonds95 4.2.1.1 Ionic Bond 95 4.2.1.2Covalent Bond95 4.2.1.3Metallic Bond 95
4.2.2Secondary Bonds95 4.3Structure of Materials96
4.3.1Crystalline Structures 96 4.3.1.1Unit Cells 96 4.3.1.2Crystal Lattice 96
4.3.2Metal Structures 97 4.3.3Polymeric Structures 98 4.3.4 Ceramic Structures 98 4.3.5Polycrystalline Materials99
4.4Structure and Properties of Polymers99 4.4.1 Polymer Classi‡cation 99 4.4.2Polymer Molecular Weights 104 4.4.3Polymer Synthesis 105 4.4.4Tacticity 107 4.4.5Polymer Crystallinity108 4.4.6Nondegradable Polymers 109 4.4.7Degradable Polymers 110
4.4.7.1Degradation Mechanism110
94
4.1 INTRODUCTION …e importance of materials and materials science to regenerative engineering cannot be overstated. It is literally the basis upon which tissues are formed and having a comprehensive understanding of what materials are, how they are formed and degraded, and how they are described and characterized is essential. …is chapter does not seek to provide a comprehensive overview of materials science but rather provide the reader the fundamental information necessary to begin to understand what materials are. …e information given here applies to all materials but when possible is presented in the context of biomaterials. Several excellent introductory materials science texts are available should the reader wish to delve deeper into any of the categories discussed.
