Sebastian Lifka,
"Biomaterials & Surface Structures in Medical & Biomimetic Applications"
, 10-2023
Original Titel:
Biomaterials & Surface Structures in Medical & Biomimetic Applications
Sprache des Titels:
Englisch
Original Kurzfassung:
With growing progress in the field of medicine and medical technology, the field of biomaterial science has gained much importance in recent decades. In general, biomaterials are materials that are used in medicine, for example as implant materials, that come into direct contact with biological tissue. This thesis deals in detail with two specific biomaterials, on the one hand human cortical bone and on the other hand (artificially produced) nanofibers. In addition to classic materials such as metals, ceramics, or polymers, sterilized and prepared cortical human bone can also be used as the base material for implants in orthopedic surgery. Implants made from this material exhibit excellent osteoconductive properties and are completely remodeled into autologous bone. A research focus of this thesis is the development of an implant made of human cortical bone for the treatment of anterior cruciate ligament injuries. In an initial biomechanical analysis, good results could already be achieved in terms of torsional strength and stability of the graft fixation of a first prototype. Another material which is also used in medicine and medical technology are nanofibers, in other words, fibers with a diameter in the nanometer range. These fibers are characterized by their extremely high surface-to-volume ratio and are therefore interesting for a variety of applications. A problem in the production of artificial nanofibers has been challenging researchers and manufacturers of nanofiber products for several years. Due to van der Waals forces, the freshly produced and therefore fragile nanofibers adhere to almost all surfaces. In the second core topic of this thesis, anti-adhesive surface structures for nanofibers, which can be observed in so-called cribellate spiders, were investigated in more detail and transferred to technical surfaces using a biomimetic approach. With these adapted anti-adhesive surface structures, the adhesion of artificial nanofibers to technical surfaces could be significantly reduced. One potential application of nanofibers in healthcare is as filter inserts in facial masks. Especially in the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, such protective masks were hardly available and, as a consequence, low-quality masks were occasionally in circulation. Therefore, the third and last topic aims at developing a simple method to check the quality of such protective masks. Both methods are characterized by their extremely simple, fast, and inexpensive application. Especially at high filter efficiencies, very good results could be achieved in the determination of the filter efficiency compared to professional, high-cost devices.