Biomaterials discovery: experimental and computational approaches

The materials that are employed in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering applications often react unfavorably in vivo (induce clotting, promote bacterial infection, stimulate a foreign body immune response). There is a need to develop new materials that generate specific cell responses, but how is this best achieved considering the huge number of materials that could be synthesized? This chapter is a description of how materials discovery can be effectively carried out using both high throughput screening and computational modeling approaches. We define and describe the components of these approaches, highlighting the most important points of consideration, with the aim of providing a starting point for new biomaterial researchers.