Mechanics of Additively Manufactured Biomaterials and Implants: Special issue of J Mech Behav Biomed Mater

Additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a powerful technique for manufacturing of various types of biomaterials and implants. Using AM, it is now possible to fabricate biomaterials with arbitrarily complex shapes at different scales. The inventory of biomaterials that can be used in this way continues to increase, extending the possible range of products and applications. The mechanical properties of the resulting materials and implants are of utmost importance, not only because a certain level of mechanical support is needed in most applications but also because the distribution of mechanical properties could significantly influence tissue regeneration performance and osseointegration. Moreover, the mechanical properties of biodegradable biomaterials tend to change over time, as biodegradation progresses. AM allows precise control of microarchitecture in porous biomaterials, which has been shown to strongly affect mechanical behavior. We believe that this is a good time to produce a special issue which brings together the latest work on biomaterials made using AM and their mechanical properties. The topics covered by the special issue include (but are not limited to):

-      Mechanical properties of AM porous biomaterials

-      Relationship between processing parameters, micro-structure, and mechanical properties of AM biomaterials

-      Developments of new AM techniques to improve or adjust the mechanical properties of biomaterials

-      AM implants

-      New materials for AM with novel properties

-      Mechanical properties of biodegradable biomaterials fabricated using AM

-      Shape-property relationships in AM biomaterials

-      Mechanical interactions, osseointegration, and tissue regeneration of AM biomaterials

Manuscript Submission:

Manuscripts should be formatted and be submitted online according to the instructions for Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials at http://www.elsevier.com/journals/journal-of-the-mechanical-behavior-of-biomedical-materials/1751-6161/guide-for-authors . The authors must select “SI: AM biomaterials” when specifying the “Article Type” in the submission system via http://ees.elsevier.com/jmbbm/default.asp. All submissions will undergo the peer review process.

Timelines:

Submission start: 1 November 2015
Submission deadline: 15 January 2016
Acceptance deadline: 30 June 2016
Expected publication of the special issue: August/September 2016

Guest Editors:

Amir A Zadpoor, Delft University of Technology
a.a.zadpoor@tudelft.nl

David Taylor, Trinity College Dublin
dtaylor@tcd.ie