Bioactive Materials is an international, peer-reviewed research publication covering all aspects of bioactive materials. The journal welcomes the submission of research papers, reviews and rapid communications that are concerned with the science and engineering of next-generation biomaterials that come into contact with cells, tissues or organs across all living species. Bioactive materials will feature adaptiveness to the biological environment, being designed to stimulate and/or direct appropriate cellular and tissue responses, or control interactions with microbiological species.
The journal publishes research on the entire range of bioactive materials that have been specifically and functionally engineered or designed in term of either their physical form (e.g. particulate, fibre, etc.), topology (e.g. porosity, surface roughness, etc.) or dimensions (i.e. macro to nano-scales). The journal invites contributions from the following categories of bioactive materials : (i) bioactive metals and alloys, (ii) bioactive inorganics: ceramics, glasses and carbon-based materials, (iii) bioactive polymers and gels, (iv) bioactive materials sourced from nature and (v) bioactive composites, for use in human or veterinary medicine as implants, tissue engineering scaffolds, cell/drug/gene carriers, imaging and sensing devices.
Biofabrication focuses on cutting-edge research regarding the use of cells, proteins, biological materials and biomaterials as building blocks to manufacture biological systems and/or therapeutic products. Emphasis is on the development of fabrication technologies, modelling of the fabricated constructs and maturation of biofabricated objects towards the intended tissue types. It includes the following topics:
Cell, tissue and organ printing, patterning and assembly
for in vitro cell models and tissue models
for tissue precursors, analogs and substitutes
as disease models
as drug/toxicological screening models
Biofabricated cell/biological material-integrated systems and medical devices
biochips and biosensors
cell-laden microfluidic devices
cell/tissue/lab/organ-on-a-chip
Novel 3D tissue scaffold fabrication
convergence of (bio)fabrication technologies
novel processes for complex scaffolds and surface engineering
bioactive and bioinspired tissue scaffolds
engineering 'active and reactive' interfaces within hierarchical structures
direct and indirect fabrication methods
Basic and applied papers dealing with biomedical engineering. Papers range from engineering development in methods and techniques with biomedical applications to experimental and clinical investigations with engineering contributions.
Materials Science and Engineering C: Materials for Biological Applications includes topics at the interface of the biomedical sciences and materials engineering. These topics include:
• Bioinspired and biomimetic materials for medical applications
• Materials of biological origin for medical applications
• Materials for "active" medical applications
• Self-assembling and self-healing materials for medical applications
• "Smart" (i.e., stimulus-response) materials for medical applications
• Ceramic, metallic, polymeric, and composite materials for medical applications
• Materials for in vivo sensing
• Materials for in vivo imaging
• Materials for delivery of pharmacologic agents and vaccines
• Novel approaches for characterizing and modeling materials for medical applications
Biosensors are defined as analytical devices incorporating a biological material, a biologically derived material or a biomimic intimately associated with or integrated within a physicochemical transducer or transducing microsystem, which may be optical, electrochemical, thermometric, piezoelectric, magnetic or micromechanical (Turner et al., 1987; Turner, 1989). Biosensors & Bioelectronics is the principal international journal devoted to research, design, development and application of biosensors and bioelectronics. It is an interdisciplinary journal serving professionals with an interest in the exploitation of biological materials and designs in novel diagnostic and electronic devices including sensors, DNA chips, electronic noses, lab-on-a-chip and μ-TAS. Biosensors usually yield a digital electronic signal which is proportional to the concentration of a specific analyte or group of analytes. While the signal may in principle be continuous, devices can be configured to yield single measurements to meet specific market requirements. Examples of Biosensors include immunosensors, enzyme-based biosensors, organism- and whole cell-based biosensors. They have been applied to a wide variety of analytical problems including uses in medicine, biomedical research, drug discovery, the environment, food, process industries, security and defence. The design and study of molecular and supramolecular structures with molecular biorecognition and biomimetic properties for use in analytical devices is also included within the scope of the journal. Here the focus is on the complementary intersection between molecular recognition, nanotechnology, molecular imprinting and supramolecular chemistry to improve the analytical performance and robustness of devices.
The emerging field of Bioelectronics seeks to exploit biology in conjunction with electronics in a wider context encompassing, for example, biological fuel cells, bionics and biomaterials for information processing, information storage, electronic components and actuators. A key aspect is the interface between biological materials and micro- and nano-electronics.
While endeavouring to maintain coherence in the scope of the journal, the editors will accept reviews and papers of obvious relevance to the community, which describe important new concepts, underpin understanding of the field or provide important insights into the practical application, manufacture and commercialisation of biosensors and bioelectronics.
Acta Biomaterialia is an international journal that publishes peer-reviewed original research reports, review papers and communications in the broadly defined field of biomaterials science. The emphasis of the journal is on the relationship between biomaterial structure and function at all length scales.
The scope of Acta Biomaterialia includes:
Hypothesis-driven design of biomaterials
Biomaterial surface science linking structure to biocompatibility, including protein adsorption and cellular interactions
Biomaterial mechanical characterization and modeling at all scales
Molecular, statistical and other types of modeling applied to capture biomaterial behavior
Interactions of biological species with defined surfaces
Combinatorial approaches to biomaterial development
Structural biology as it relates structure to function for biologically derived materials that have application as a medical material, or as it aids in understanding the biological response to biomaterials
Methods for biomaterial characterization
Processing of biomaterials to achieve specific functionality
Materials development for arrayed genomic and proteomic screening
Biomaterials is an international journal covering the science and clinical application of biomaterials. A biomaterial is now defined as a substance that has been engineered to take a form which, alone or as part of a complex system, is used to direct, by control of interactions with components of living systems, the course of any therapeutic or diagnostic procedure. It is the aim of the journal to provide a peer-reviewed forum for the publication of original papers and authoritative review and opinion papers dealing with the most important issues facing the use of biomaterials in clinical practice. The scope of the journal covers the wide range of physical, biological and chemical sciences that underpin the design of biomaterials and the clinical disciplines in which they are used. These sciences include polymer synthesis and characterization, drug and gene vector design, the biology of the host response, immunology and toxicology and self assembly at the nanoscale. Clinical applications include the therapies of medical technology and regenerative medicine in all clinical disciplines, and diagnostic systems that reply on innovative contrast and sensing agents. The journal is relevant to areas such as cancer diagnosis and therapy, implantable devices, drug delivery systems, gene vectors, bionanotechnology and tissue engineering.
Straddling the life sciences, the physical sciences and engineering, Nature Biomedical Engineering aims to bring together the most important advances from the broad discipline of biomedical engineering, enhancing their visibility through opinion and news articles, and providing overviews of the state of the art in each field. The journal's scope includes materials, therapies and devices that facilitate the understanding of human disease, or lead to improvements in human health or healthcare. For more information, please see Aims & Scope.
Bioinspiration & Biomimetics publishes research involving the study and distillation of principles and functions found in biological systems that have been developed through evolution, and application of this knowledge to produce novel and exciting basic technologies and new approaches to solving scientific problems. It provides a forum for interdisciplinary research which acts as a pipeline, facilitating the two-way flow of ideas and understanding between the extensive bodies of knowledge of the different disciplines. It has two principal aims: to draw on biology to enrich engineering and to draw from engineering to enrich biology.
The journal aims to include input from across all intersecting areas of both fields. In biology, this would include work in all fields from physiology to ecology, with either zoological or botanical focus. In engineering, this would include both design and practical application of biomimetic or bioinspired devices and systems.
Applied Bionics and Biomechanics publishes papers that seek to understand the mechanics of biological systems, or that use the functions of living organisms as inspiration for the design of new devices. Such systems may be used as artificial replacements, or aids, for their original biological purpose, or be used in a different setting altogether.
As well as original research, Applied Bionics and Biomechanics also publishes focused review articles that examine the state of the art, identify emerging trends, and suggest future directions for developing fields.
