Biomimetics and tissue engineering are new fields that go hand-in-hand to pursue
an old object-ive repairing or replacing body parts. Biomimetics (literally,
to mimic biology) is a branch of science where biology and engineering meet
where scientists uncover the biological principles needed to produce bioinspired
materials that can be used to engineer tissues. The foundation of this broad
new field has ancient roots. Replacing body parts goes back at least 2,500 years,
when the Etruscans learned to substitute missing teeth with bridges made from
artificial teeth carved from the bones of oxen. Evidence of crude dental implants
dates back to Roman populations of the first or second century AD and to pre-Columbian
cultures of Central and South America. The first use of dental amalgam to repair
decayed teeth was recorded in the Chinese literature in the year 659. The middle
of the 20th century saw more sophisticated inventions in the heart pacemaker,
the artificial heart valve, and hip and knee joint replacements. Historically,
organ and tissue loss have been treated by surgical reconstruction, and more
recently, the use of mechanical devices such as kidney dialyzers and the transplantation
of organs from one individual to another.
The demand for all reparative procedures is staggering both in scope and cost. Each year, millions of Americans suffer some type of tissue loss or end-stage organ failure. The total cost for these patients exceeds $400 billion per year, making a significant contribution to the nation's annual health care bill of approximately $1 trillion. Included in these annual figures are roughly 20,000 organ transplants, 500,000 joint replacements, and literally millions of dental-oral-craniofacial procedures, ranging from tooth restorations to major reconstruction of facial hard and soft tissues. While the current state of clinical science has dramatically prolonged and improved the quality of many lives, the present solutions are naturally awed. Artificial replacements are never as efficient and durable as the original tissues, and transplantation of real organs is severely limited by a shortage of donors. About 58,000 Americans are on waiting lists for organs, and thousands die each year waiting for transplants. Even when such organs are available there are the lingering problems of disease transmission and recipient rejection.
As Americans continue to live longer, there will be an increased demand for better ways to deal with the challenges brought on by inherited disorders, infectious and neoplastic diseases, craniofacial-oral-dental trauma, and the many chronic disabling diseases and disorders that affect the total body. It is within the framework of recent technological advances in cellular and molecular biology, engineering, and materials science that biomimetics and tissue engineering are emerging to help fulfill a long-sought dream.
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