The concept and manufacture of a new generation of biomaterials based on global healthcare needs

Work on biomaterials has ensued for about six decades, where major developments have been achieved. Conventional biomaterials incorporating metals, ceramics, polymers and their composites have brought in new generations of biomaterials. However, what is lagging, is scale-up from the laboratory innovations to the manufacturing stage. This chapter elucidates some of these key developments but then alerts the reader to the fact that this book is dedicated to a different new generation of biomaterials: small structures made from soft matter, mainly bubbles, particles and fibres, in particular their scalable making for healthcare applications; innovating mass production manufacturing processes to cater for patient benefit.