Can We Structure Biomaterials to Spray Well Whilst Maintaining Functionality?

Richard J A Moakes, Liam M Grover, Thomas E Robinson

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

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Abstract

Structured fluid biomaterials, including gels, creams, emulsions and particle suspensions, are used extensively across many industries, including great interest within the medical field as controlled release vehicles to improve the therapeutic benefit of delivered drugs and cells. Colloidal forces within these materials create multiscale cohesive interactions, giving rise to intricate microstructures and physical properties, exemplified by increasingly complex mathematical descriptions. Yield stresses and viscoelasticity, typically arising through the material microstructure, vastly improve site-specific retention, and protect valuable therapeutics during application. One powerful application route is spraying, a convenient delivery method capable of applying a thin layer of material over geometrically uneven surfaces and hard-to-reach anatomical locations. The process of spraying is inherently disruptive, breaking a bulk fluid in successive steps into smaller elements, applying multiple forces over several length scales. Historically, spray research has focused on simple, inviscid solutions and dispersions, far from the complex microstructures and highly viscoelastic properties of concentrated colloidal biomaterials. The cohesive forces in colloidal biomaterials appear to conflict with the disruptive forces that occur during spraying. This review explores the physical bass and mathematical models of both the multifarious material properties engineered into structured fluid biomaterials and the disruptive forces imparted during the spray process, in order to elucidate the challenges and identify opportunities for rational design of sprayable, structured fluid biomaterials.

Original languageEnglish
Article number3
Number of pages15
JournalBioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.

Keywords

  • spray physics
  • structured fluid
  • colloids
  • controlled delivery
  • advanced materials

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Bioengineering

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