Abstract

A material can only be considered as a biomaterial when it does not result in a negative response (excessive inflammatory response, excessive foreign body response, etc.) by the organism in which it is implanted or put in contact. This implies that a biomaterial has to be biocompatible, non-cytotoxic and to have mechanical properties allowing its interaction, including adhesion, with the vicinal cells and tissues. Even if biomaterials science has undergone major developments in the last years to use not only passive materials but also active materials (undergoing controlled degradation and recolonization by the cells of the host) and even so called living biomaterials [1], we have to admit that the range of materials used is pretty limited in comparison with the large repertoire used in other fields of materials science.