About this Research Topic

Background

Adverse immune reactions to implants are important bottlenecks for translation of biomaterial discoveries for large scale use. Moreover, recent advances in highthrough-put biomaterial discovery and synthetic biology significantly improves potential risks related to the in vivo reactions to these new materials; as the materials might have unintended biological activities due to their natural building blocks. Thus biomaterial field needs i) better understanding of cell/biomaterial interactions at systems level; ii) development of new analysis and testing tools for advanced risk assessment iii) tools and technologies for modulating reactions to biomaterials and iv) advanced in vitro models for understanding and testing of reactions to biomaterials.

Within this view, this research topic welcomes articles in 4 main areas:

1) Understanding Adverse Reactions to Biomaterials: Basic in vitro and in vivo studies elucidating the reactions to biomaterials from single cell to system level.

2) Biomaterial testing systems and methods: New techniques, technologies and methods for physical, mechanical, chemical and biological characterization of biomaterials with a particular emphasis on potential risks pertaining to their use.

3) Immunomodulation: Immunomodulation innovations for mediation of implanted biomaterial host interactions via micro/nanoscale surface modifications, immune-instructive biomaterial design, controlled delivery of cytokines or similar technologies.

4) In vitro models and on-chip systems: In vitro model systems at single organ or connected organs level for studies of biomaterial interactions with tissues.

This Research Topic will be a collection of state-of-the-art research papers together with reviews and mini-reviews as a potential source of reference for the recent advances in risk assessment of biomaterials. Methodology and protocole based studies together with clinical retrorespective studies or meta-analyses of adverse reactions to implanted biomaterials are also seeked.

Keywords: Biomaterials, Immune response, Risk assessment, In vitro models, Micro/Nanotechnology

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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