Biocompatibility of biomaterials

Abstract

As the number of available materials increases, it becomes more and more importantto be protected from unsuitable products or materials. This purpose is assured by the mean of biocompatibility tests. For the biocompatibility of a material to be proved, it must be subjected to various studies ranging from in vitro assays to clinical trials and involving distinct areas such as pharmaceutics, biology, chemistry, and toxicology. The use of standardized tests allows better comparison between the results of different studies to clarify the behavior of the materials and their safety in relation to cells and tissues. After the comparison realized in this work between the several methods of biocompatibility testing we found that: - A combination of various in vitro and in vivo tests can provide an overview of the interaction of biomaterials with the host. - The evaluation of biocompatibility is dependent not only on the tested biomaterial but also on the test method used. So clinicians need to be familiar with these methods.