title: Progress in material design for biomedical applications.
abstract: Biomaterials that interface with biological systems are used to deliver drugs safely and efficiently; to prevent, detect, and treat disease; to assist the body as it heals; and to engineer functional tissues outside of the body for organ replacement. The field has evolved beyond selecting materials that were originally designed for other applications with a primary focus on properties that enabled restoration of function and mitigation of acute pathology. Biomaterials are now designed rationally with controlled structure and dynamic functionality to integrate with biological complexity and perform tailored, high-level functions in the body. The transition has been from permissive to promoting biomaterials that are no longer bioinert but bioactive. This perspective surveys recent developments in the field of polymeric and soft biomaterials with a specific emphasis on advances in nano- to macroscale control, static to dynamic functionality, and biocomplex materials.
authors.affiliation: Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Tibbitt
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104;
authors.forename: Christopher B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Rodell
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104;
authors.forename: Jason A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Burdick
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303 Kristi.Anseth@colorado.edu.
authors.forename: Kristi S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Anseth
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D006801:Humans; D023822:Tissue Engineering
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials
keywords: biocomplex; biomaterials; dynamics; feature control; soft materials