Sandra Carvalho
University of Minho, Portugal
Title: Surface modification: A promising solution for biomedical applications
Biography
Biography: Sandra Carvalho
Abstract
Significant advances have been made in the technology of biomedical coatings and materials. This talk will provide an extensive review of coating types and surface modifications for biomedical applications. In many cases, side by side with traditional properties, like wear and corrosion resistance, biomaterials have to be compatible with body tissues and fluids, have anti-microbial activity and, in specific cases, contributing for a good integration of the material in the human body (e.g. osseointegration). It is difficult to find a unique material with all these functionalities, reinforcing the importance of surface engineering to supply new functionalities. The topic of this talk is centred in the surface modification of materials, traditionally used for biomedical applications, in order to improve their performance for specific cases. Different surface modification methods will be presented and the potential applications like orthopaedic (Figure 1), cardiovascular and urethral stents (Figure 2), biosensors (Figure 3), dental implants (Figure 4) will be discussed. Several cases studies from antimicrobial coatings to bioactive surfaces will be presented.
Figure 1: Functional coating for hip joint
Figure 2: Functionalized stents with antimicrobial activity
Figure 3: Smart electrode deposited on polymers based sensors for smart implants
Figure 4: New bioactive surface for dental implants