Category Archives: Biomaterials / Nanomedicine / Bionanotechnology

Medical Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine – Book Review

Medical Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine

Medical Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine: Perspectives in Nanotechnology Series; Taylor & Francis CRC Press 2010WorldCatLibraryThingGoogle BooksBookFinder

ISBN 9781439808740 –  527 pages   $50 on Amazon  Published 2010

From beginning to end, this timely volume bridges the interdisciplinary gap between medicine and nanoscience technology as it applies to biomedical applications. Dr. Tibbals does a superb job of explaining exactly how nanoscale materials and approaches can and are making a difference in the healthcare field.

For instance, pointing out that the size regime of 10 nm-100 nm is in the ideal range for nanoparticles that can be extracted by blood without clogging capillaries or being trapped in certain organs is an excellent example of explaining a simple physical concept with human physiological impact that both physicists and doctors can relate to.

The author demonstrates deep, broad and expert knowledge of many areas of nanomedicine while making the understanding of key concepts accessible without resorting to opaque language or heavy equations. The approach of this complex subject is rather holistic, as Dr. Tibbals even goes through a brief history of nanomedicine, societal implications and emerging initiatives that can give some further investigative directions for the interested reader.

He also discusses particularly exciting subjects such as tissue regeneration and replacement and they are given an impressive amount of coverage. The implications for healing are very promising and lend optimism that revolutionary medical techniques can be both affordable and accessible now and in the near future.

Bear in mind, this publication is more of a general survey than a hard reference book or core university textbook, but I feel it belongs on the shelf of any doctor or aspiring biomedical engineer who needs an executive summary of the state of nanotechnology with respect to medicine.

Bio-Nanotechnology: Concept & Applications

Bio-Nanotechnology: Concept & Applications 1st Edition Hardcover

by Madhuri Sharon, Maheshwar Sharon, Sunil Pandey, Goldie Oza

Bio-Nanotechnology Book Review by Joel-Anthony Gray

Bio-Nanotechnology: Concepts and Applications

ISBN 1439852146 –  300 pages   $66.31 on Amazon  Published May 2012

I am more than a bit surprised that a fresh book in such a cutting edge field is so inexpensive and seems to be a bit unknown at this time. (at least I am not seeing any reviews on Amazon as of this writing)

Despite some flaws and shortcomings, this is quickly becoming one of my favorite texts on the subject.

There is definitely more of a bias towards helpful illustrations, photos and diagrams in here than there are equations, so this is NOT a hard-core reference manual, but it is an excellent overview of some of the latest concepts and approaches in the field of bio-nanotechnology.

The areas covered are broad and what I find to be the most valuable contribution of this work is the ILLUMINATION that it provides on fundamental concepts that are too often obscured by analysis and math symbology. For example, the chapter on ATP Synthase motor dynamics is the most detailed and yet most understandable explanation I have yet encountered on this almost supernaturally efficient wonder of nature. 

There are numerous other eureka moments I encountered throughout the book while reading; the kind of “Aha!” transitions that professors and PhD students allude to when you reach a certain quantum leap in understanding and you glimpse how all sorts of “First Principles” converge, interconnect and hang together.

The only detraction at times is the glaring grammatical mistakes in certain chapters that are the obvious result of mistranslated material and/or a lack of good proofreading. This may seem picky, but in some cases the error is of such a magnitude that the technical meaning is distorted into misinformation. In one case, the number of hydrogen bonds between nitrogenous bases is incorrectly illustrated as 2 for both A & T and C & G with the ring order in DNA accidentally reversed. (the correct number is 2 and 3 respectively) Still, a sharp student or professor should be able to suss out the wheat from the chaff; I just look forward to a 2nd edition that has been more carefully edited.

All in all, if you want a good technical overview of trends in bionanotechnology or just need to review the basics, then this is a must have, but I don’t find it suitable as a primary academic textbook. (but a recommended supplement)

Biomaterials: An Introduction

Biomaterials: An IntroductionJoon Bu Park; Springer 2007WorldCatLibraryThingGoogle BooksBookFinder 

Biomaterials: An Introduction

Biomaterials: An Introduction

ISBN 0387378790 –  562 pages   $109 on Amazon  Published August 2007

This is a text that could be best characterized as sharing aspects between the detailed reference manual / phone book that Biomaterials Science by Ratner represents, while still having some linear focus on progressive fundamentals as exemplified in the superb text Introduction to Biomaterials by Agrawal.

It excels at having numerous illustrations and images while possessing some rather unique and informative tables and figures that underscore important concepts in this field. The math isn’t terribly difficult and in addition I also noticed numerous worked examples which is something I feel more engineering books should work on.

For an undergrad class, this is probably more of a supplementary text as the density of information will tend to dissuade younger, less persistent students. For a grad class, the age of the book being greater than 8 years may be seen as a detraction compared to a recent cutting edge text.

While I love new texts on science, I have often found relatively obscure knowledge in older books and have learned to appreciate their place on my shelf.

Introduction to Biomaterials: Basic Theory with Engineering Applications

Introduction to Biomaterials: Basic Theory with Engineering Applications by C. Mauli Agrawal, Joo L. Ong, Mark R. Appleford and Gopinath Mani

Introduction to Biomaterials: Basic Theory with Engineering Applications

Introduction to Biomaterials: Basic Theory with Engineering Applications

ISBN 0521116902 –  419 pages  $72 on Amazon              Published December 16, 2013 Cambridge University Press

This was one of the books for my Biomaterials class and it is one of the best undergrad level texts I have reviewed in a long time. The unanimous 5 star reviews on Amazon so far appear to show agreement from other students and reviewers.

The overall organization, balance and layout of the information is close to perfect, though I probably would have rearranged the chapter sequence slightly which is a small quibble. It is relatively easy to read given the concepts presented, but a previous education in materials science, organic chemistry and human / cell physiology is very helpful for putting it all together.

There is an abundance of well-done illustrations, photos, tables and diagrams which make this complex and interdisciplinary subject very accessible and this is the sort of text I wish I had as a kid. What is particularly strong and useful about this text is that they not only walk the reader through the fundamentals, but also cover a number of adjacent subjects such as characterization, surface modification, biological systems, implant sterilization, and even natural biomaterials such as collagen, alginate, silk and coral.

As for the math, there are some formulas given, and while there are other books devoted to materials science, I wish this book had gone into more detail and had back of the envelope worked examples that more fully explored the numbers behind mechanical and chemical properties. But then again, the very title of this book states that it is only a basic theory book and focuses more on applications, so it delivers what it says and very well at that.

Cutting edge topics such as tissue engineering and the role of 3D printers is also touched on, so on the whole, you get a lot for a sub-$100 book.