While numerous other industries (such as automobile, construction, household products, aerospace, etc.) have embraced green or environmentally friendly technologies and materials, to date, medicine has not. Specifically, even though the biomaterials field uses some of the same materials as those from other industries (such as titanium, stainless steel, polymers, etc.), there has been little effort to reduce the environmental impact of biomaterial synthesis and use today. This is up from 850 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2019, despite the fact that it has been estimated that polymers (some of the same ones used in medicine) will add 2.8 gigatons of CO2 emissions by 2050. Included in this harm to the environment is the extensive use of polymers (such as tissue culture polystyrene petri dishes) in the laboratory to test new biomaterials. Many researchers are now directing their efforts to reduce the environmental impact of biomaterial synthesis and use and several innovations have been already highlighted in literature.
Although not reaching commercialization, the goal of this Research Topic is to highlight new environmentally friendly biomaterial synthesis processes and materials being researched around the world. From using natural materials (such as plants) to cells that make nanoparticles to recyclable petri dishes, this special issue will highlight successful efforts to reduce the environmental impact of biomaterials. As such, the goal of this Research Topic is to highlight that one can create environmentally friendly biomaterials without reducing efficacy and increasing costs. Further, it will also highlight what has been seen in other fields that when creating materials in an environmentally friendly process, better properties (such as cytcompatibility and biocompatibility) result. It will highlight once and for all that environmentally friendly biomaterials can help both save the environment and people.
This Research Topic is seeking manuscripts (Original Research, Review, Mini Review) that address all topics related to the environmental friendly synthesis and use of biomaterials including but not limited to:
• The design, synthesis and evaluation of natural materials (such as plants, herbs, etc.) for biomaterial synthesis
• The design, synthesis, and evaluation of living organisms (such as cells, bacteria, and mammalian cells) for biomaterial synthesis
• The design, synthesis, and evaluation of nanomaterials which demonstrate comparable properties to conventional materials, and, thus, show that fewer materials are needed for biomaterial use
• The design, synthesis, and evaluation of biomaterial synthesis processes which reduce the impact on the environment
• The design, synthesis, and evaluation of new biomaterials which can be recycled or are composed of recycled materials
• Novel biomaterial applications which reduce environmental impact
• Structure-property relationships among environmentally friendly biomaterials
• Novel chemical synthesis processes and properties for environmentally friendly biomaterials
While numerous other industries (such as automobile, construction, household products, aerospace, etc.) have embraced green or environmentally friendly technologies and materials, to date, medicine has not. Specifically, even though the biomaterials field uses some of the same materials as those from other industries (such as titanium, stainless steel, polymers, etc.), there has been little effort to reduce the environmental impact of biomaterial synthesis and use today. This is up from 850 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2019, despite the fact that it has been estimated that polymers (some of the same ones used in medicine) will add 2.8 gigatons of CO2 emissions by 2050. Included in this harm to the environment is the extensive use of polymers (such as tissue culture polystyrene petri dishes) in the laboratory to test new biomaterials. Many researchers are now directing their efforts to reduce the environmental impact of biomaterial synthesis and use and several innovations have been already highlighted in literature.
Although not reaching commercialization, the goal of this Research Topic is to highlight new environmentally friendly biomaterial synthesis processes and materials being researched around the world. From using natural materials (such as plants) to cells that make nanoparticles to recyclable petri dishes, this special issue will highlight successful efforts to reduce the environmental impact of biomaterials. As such, the goal of this Research Topic is to highlight that one can create environmentally friendly biomaterials without reducing efficacy and increasing costs. Further, it will also highlight what has been seen in other fields that when creating materials in an environmentally friendly process, better properties (such as cytcompatibility and biocompatibility) result. It will highlight once and for all that environmentally friendly biomaterials can help both save the environment and people.
This Research Topic is seeking manuscripts (Original Research, Review, Mini Review) that address all topics related to the environmental friendly synthesis and use of biomaterials including but not limited to:
• The design, synthesis and evaluation of natural materials (such as plants, herbs, etc.) for biomaterial synthesis
• The design, synthesis, and evaluation of living organisms (such as cells, bacteria, and mammalian cells) for biomaterial synthesis
• The design, synthesis, and evaluation of nanomaterials which demonstrate comparable properties to conventional materials, and, thus, show that fewer materials are needed for biomaterial use
• The design, synthesis, and evaluation of biomaterial synthesis processes which reduce the impact on the environment
• The design, synthesis, and evaluation of new biomaterials which can be recycled or are composed of recycled materials
• Novel biomaterial applications which reduce environmental impact
• Structure-property relationships among environmentally friendly biomaterials
• Novel chemical synthesis processes and properties for environmentally friendly biomaterials
