BIOE 801 Biomaterials

Fundamental of material science

Xuejun Wen, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Bioengineering
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy
Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery
Introduction
• The bulk and surface properties of biomaterials used for medical
implant directly influence the tissue-implant interface, dynamic
interaction, short-term and long-term fate of the implant.
• Each material have specific bulk and surface properties or
characteristics.
– These should be known before using for any medical application.
• The changes of above properties over time in vivo.
– These should also be know before using for any in vivo application.
• Although the properties of most materials are available from
handbooks, journal publications, etc., these properties have to be
tested in the context of the intended biomedical use.
– Cardiovascular---flowing blood contact…. Cyclic mechanical loading…
– Orthopedic---functional load bearing…
– Dental---percutaneous…
Materials (Where they are?)

Parts: Implants, Scaffolds,….

Materials

Molecules

Atoms

Protons, Neutrons, Electrons

?
Atoms
• All matter is composed atoms
• Atoms of a give element have identical properties
• Different elements have different properties: How this may help
us?
•
– We can identify a molecule/material by identify each element in the
molecule/material.
• Atoms are not created or destroyed in chemical reactions (exclude
nuclear reaction).
• Individual atoms can be visualized using Scanning Tunneling
Microscope.
Atoms
• Atoms contain
– Protons (+ charge)
– Neutrons (no charge)
– Electrons (- charge)
• Protons + Neutrons = Nucleus (Heavy elements)
• Electrons (Light elements)
• Atoms have measurable masses. How to measure?
Atomic Weight is average mass of an atom of an element. Why?
•
– Mass spectrometer can be used to measure
– Isotope (the number of neutrons is different) How we can use isotope for
biomaterial research?
Molecules
• Two or more atoms joined together by chemical bonds and form a
molecule.
• Molecule will form if total energy of molecule is lower than the
total energy of the separated atoms.
• Atoms combine in whole number ratio (no fractional atom).
• Molecular formula gives the composition of:
– Number of atom of each element present
• Molecular weight: sum of masses of atoms
• Ordinary samples (Materials) contain lots of molecules.
Molecule will form if total energy of molecule is lower than the
total energy of the separated atoms.
• NaCl
– Use IE (Ionization energy), EA (electron
affinity), and Coulomb’s Law to find the energy
• Na: IE=496 KJ/Mol
• Cl: EA=-328 KJ/mol
• Coulombic Energies=-861kJ/mol
Bulk properties of materials—Solid state
• The states of matter: (Think about H2O)
•
– Liquid
– Gas
– Solid
• What’s the difference between solids and liquids or gases?
•
– Solids are held together by strong inter-atomic forces
– Electronic and atomic structures and physical properties of the solids depend
on the nature and strength of the inter-atomic bonds.
– Three types of strong or primary inter-atomic bonds
• Ionic, covalent, and metallic bonds
• The full account of the nature of these bonds have to be explained through the
modern theory of quantum mechanics. (NOT our focus here)
Ionic bonding
• Electron donor (metallic) atoms transfer one or more electrons to
an electron acceptor (nonmetallic) atom.
• One becomes a cation (e.g., metal) and the other becomes anion
(e.g., nonmetal)
• Cations and anions are strongly attracted by electrostatic or
Coulomb effect. This attraction constitutes the ionic bond.
• Examples include NaCl, MgO,…
Ionic bond and crystal structure
• Poor electrical conducting: due to that loosely bound electrons of
each atoms are now tightly held in the locality of the ion bond
• Low chemical reactivity: low overall energy state.

• In ionic solids, there are many ions (cations and anions).

– Ions are arranged in a way that each cation is surrounded by as many anions
as possible to reduce the strong mutual repulsion of cations.
– This packing reduces the overall energy of the assemly/ordered
arrangement, and called crystal structure.
Crystal structure: Simple cubic
Crystal structure: Face-centered-cubic (FCC)
Crystal structure: Body-centered cubic (BCC)
Crystal structure: Hexagonal close-packed (HCP)
Covalent bonding
• When atoms have about equal tendency to donate or accept
electrons, they do NOT form strong ionic bonds (They are going
to Share rather than Donate).
• Covalent bonding is based on electron sharing rather than
donation.
Potential curve
Carbon- An example of covalent bond
Carbon (Diamond)
Carbon (Graphite)

Graphite
Summary about bonding
• Two extremes
– Ionic bonding: electron
donation/transfer (from positive ion
to negative ion)
– Covalent bonding: electron sharing
• Most bonds are the combination of
the two
– Polar covalent bonds: uneven
electron sharing
Electronegativity
• Electronegativity is a measure of the ability of an atom or
molecule to attract electrons in the context of a chemical bond.
• The type of bond formed is largely determined by the difference in
electronegativity between the atoms involved.
• Atoms with similar electronegativities (H2, N2) will share an
electron with each other and form a covalent bond.
• If the difference is too great, the electron will be permanently
transferred to one atom and an ionic bond will form.
• If one atom pulls slightly harder than the other, a polar covalent
bond will form (CO2).
• The reverse of electronegativity, the ability of an atom to lose
electrons, is known as electropositivity.
Electronegativity
Lewis structures
• Lewis Structures of atoms:
– The chemical symbol for the atom is surrounded by a number of dots
corresponding to the number of valence electrons.
• Lewis Structures for Ions of Elements:
– The chemical symbol for the element is surrounded by the number of
valence electrons present in the ion.
– The whole structure is then placed within square brackets, with a
superscript to indicate the charge on the ion.
– Atoms will gain or lose electrons in order to achieve a stable
electronic configuration.
– Negative ions (anions) are formed when an atom gains electrons.
– Positive ions (cations) are formed when an atom loses electrons.
• Lewis Structures for Ionic Compounds:
– The overall charge on the compound must equal zero, that is, the
number of electrons lost by one atom must equal the number of
electrons gained by the other atom.
– The Lewis Structure (electron dot diagram) of each ion is used to
construct the Lewis Structure (electron dot diagram) for the ionic
compound.
• Lewis Structures for Covalent Compounds:
– Electrons in the Lewis Structure (electron dot diagram) are paired to
show the bonding pair of electrons.
– Often the shared pair of electrons forming the covalent bond is
circled
– Sometimes the bond itself is shown (-), these structures can be
referred to as valence structures.
Metal bonding
• Metal atoms, being strong electron donors, do not bond by either
ionic or covalent processes.
• However, may metals have very high melting temperature
indicating very strong inter-atomic bonds exist.
• The explanation is that: atoms arranged in an orderly, repeating, 3-
D pattern, with the valence electrons migrating between the atoms
like a gas. (Free electron model of metallic bonding).
– Imagine a metal crystal composed of positive ion cores, atoms without their
valence electrons. Negative electrons circulate.
• Non-localized bonds in a metal allows plastic deformation
• Electron gas accounts for active chemical reactivity, high electric
and thermal conductivity of metallic systems
Weak bonding/Secondary bonding
• Weak bond significantly influence the properties of some solids, especially polymers.
• Van der Waals bonding (Physical bonding): is weak when compared to primary/chemical
bonding.
– It exists between virtually all atoms or molecules, but its presence may be obscured if any the 3
primary bonding types is present.
– Inert gases, between molecules in molecular structures that are covalently bonded.
– Dipole: Secondary bonding forces arise from atomic or molecular dipoles. (The separation of
positive and negative portions of an atom or molecule)
• Hydrogen bonding: Covalent bonds between N-H as well as between O-H are quite polar,
and the H atom can be considered as being partially positive.
– H atom is attracted fairly strongly to atoms which have lone pairs of electrons (such as O and N).
– The molecules involved to become weakly bonded, through the H atom.
– Hydrogen bonds are stronger than Van der Waals bonds, but weaker than ionic bonds or covalent
bonds.
– They play very important role in living systems.
Van der Waals bonding
Van der Waals bonding (graphite)
Hydrogen bonding