The need to control the adhesion of cells to material surfaces plays an important role in determining the design of biomaterial substrates for biotechnology and tissue-engineering applications. As ...

A current medical challenge is the replacement of tissue which can be thought of in terms of bone tissue engineering approaches. The key problem in bone tissue engineering lies in associating bone stem cells with material supports or scaffolds that can be implanted in a patient. Beside bone tissue engineering approaches, these types of materials are used daily in orthopaedics and dental practice as permanent or transitory implants such as ceramic bone filling materials or metallic prostheses. Consequently, it is essential to better understand how bone cells interact with materials. For several years, the current authors and others have developed in vitro studies in order to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the response of human bone cells to implant surfaces. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge and proposes future directions for research in this domain.

Most of the implant-associated infections are attributed to bacteria adhering to biomaterial surfaces as “biofilm” communities. Bacterial transport, first contact with the surface as well as some o...