Cells and Biomaterials Flashcards
What are cells?
The smallest unit that can live on its own and that makes up all living organisms and the tissues in the body
They have 3 main parts: The cell membrane, the nucleus and the cytoplasm
What do cells need to survive?
A constant supply of sugar, minerals and oxygen. And dispose of waste products, all carried back and forth by the blood cells
What is programmed cell death?
Is a normal physiological form of cell death that plays a key role in the maintenance of adult tissues and in embryonic development
In adults, it is responsible for balancing cell proliferation (rapid increase in amount) and maintaining constant cell numbers
It is one of the first lines of defence against cancer and infection by invaders like viruses
What are the 4 basic tissue groups
Connective(overall presence), Muscle(muscles, contract, relax), Nervous(brain and spine) and Epithelial (Cover, line, absorb, excrete)
What is potency?
Is the number of possible fates that a cell can acquire.
It decreases with age
What are stem cells?
They are cells of variable potency that have the ability to self renew
They divide slowly into a stem cell and a progenitor, the progenitor can then turn into a cell of a different type for example, bone neural, etc.
What is stem cell regulation?
Stem cells are normally kept inactive by signals from the surrounding cells (niche). We don’t want them activating when not needed or we get unwanted cell division (cancer)
Stem cells are activated by their environment, these come from when the surrounding cells have been damaged etc.
What are the engineering design principles of biomaterials?
Function - The task that the product is meant to perform
Materials - Substance used to construct the material
Process - The way the product is manufactured
Shape - Substance used to construct the system
What is a bio material?
It is a material intended to interface with biological systems to evaluate, treat, augment(increase) or replace any tissue, organ or function of the body
What are the requirement of biomaterials for biomanufacturing?
Formability, biocompatibility, suitable mechanical properties, biodegradability, bioactivity, sterilisation
