Host Responses to Biomaterials and Anti‐Inflammatory Design—a Brief Review

• Published in: Macromolecular bioscience Vol. 18; no. 8; pp. e1800112 - n/a
• Main Authors: Zhou, Guoying, Groth, Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.08.2018
• Subjects: Biocompatibility; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Cell activation; fibroblasts; Fibrosis; glycosaminoglycans; Immobilization; Implantation; Inflammation; Inflammatory response; Leukocytes; macrophages; Material properties; Protein adsorption; Proteins; Reagents; Regeneration; Reviews; Surface properties; Surgical implants; Tissue engineering; glycosaminoglycans; fibroblasts; macrophages; biocompatibility; inflammation
• ISSN: 1616-5187; 1616-5195
• DOI: 10.1002/mabi.201800112

Host responses toward foreign implants that lead to chronic inflammation and fibrosis may result in failure of the biomedical device. To solve these problems, first a better understanding of the biomaterial‐induced host reactions including protein adsorption, leukocyte activation, inflammatory and fibrotic responses to biomaterials is required; second an improved design of biomaterial surfaces is needed that results in an appropriate host response, causing less inflammatory response, and supporting tissue regeneration. Hence, this review provides a brief overview on the host response to implants, as well as in vitro models to study inflammatory and fibrotic responses to biomaterials to predict the clinical outcome of implantation. Moreover, the review highlights anti‐inflammatory strategies to improve the biocompatibility of implants, which contain the modification of physicochemical surface properties of materials as well as the immobilization of anti‐inflammatory reagents and bioactive molecules on biomaterials. Chronic inflammation hampers the use of biomaterials after implantation. Hence, this review highlights anti‐inflammatory strategies to improve the biocompatibility of implants for various medical and tissue engineering applications. The strategies contain modification of the physicochemical properties of biomaterials as well as the immobilization of anti‐inflammatory reagents and bioactive molecules on biomaterial surfaces for triggering appropriate host responses.