American Ceramic Society Bulletin

A report on the Indo-U.S. Joint Center
for Biomaterials for Health Care
by Bikramjit Basu and Thomas Webster
D
uring the past few decades, materials for
biomedical applications have received
much attention in the scientific community, primarily
because biomaterials are capable of replacing,
reconstructing and regenerating human/
animal body tissues for long-term use, with little
toxic or inflammatory effects.
Biomaterials, as well as their applications as artificial organs, are, therefore,
recognized as an emerging area for material scientists, biotechnologists, chemists,
engineers and medical professionals. Traditionally, biomaterials have been
created by largely trial-and-error processes. For example, titanium was initially
considered for orthopedic applications because it is lightweight and strong
(clearly important for artificial joint applications).
This approach has sufficed to date to help restore organ function and at
least partially return a quality of life to persons suffering from various diseases.
However, all of the implants currently used today to treat body ailments – from
orthopedics to the vasculature – have limited lifetimes, which are often less
than that of the patient. Moreover, there is room to improve the functionality
and the quality of life of the patient.
Clearly, approaches other than trial-and-error-engineering are needed to
design even better implants for the coming generations.
Center created
For these reasons, Indo–U.S. Science and Technology Forum established
the Public–Private Networked R&D Center on Biomaterials for Health Care
with these writers – Bikramjit Basu as director and Thomas Webster as codirector
– in November 2008. S.P. Mehrotra, Department of Materials Science and
Engineering, IIT Kanpur, is the nodal coordinator of the center.
The R&D Center includes the participation of
• Two academic institutes from India (IIT Kanpur and IIT Mumbai);
• Three academic institutes from United States (Brown University,
University of Texas, San Antonio, and University of Washington, Seattle);
• Two national research labs from India (National Metallurgical Laboratory
and the Non-Ferrous Technology Development Center); and
• One private U.S. company (Shaping Concepts LLC located in Texas).
The Center for Biomaterials for Health Care is the largest of all the Indo–
U.S. research centers currently funded by IUSSTF. The Center’s projects range
from mimicking the natural chemical and nanostructure of natural tissues to
creating improved biomaterials to developing sensors that can determine in
real time in-situ events surrounding implants (to ensure their success).
In particular, the general aim of the Center for Biomaterials for Health Care
has been to combine innovative material science concepts (including nanotechnology)
with biological science approaches to develop implants that can
last the lifetimes of the patients and to return those patients to the lifestyles
38 American Ceramic Society Bulletin, Vol. 90, No. 4