Thoughts and tribulations on bioceramics and marine structures

Marine organisms are structured and constituted by materials with a vast range of properties and characteristics that may justify their potential application within the biomedical field. This is demonstrated by the biological effectiveness of marine structures such as corals and shells and sponge skeletons to house self-sustaining musculoskeletal tissues and their ability to promote bone formation though the use of extracts from sponging and nacre seashells. The design and composition of marine structures have been instrumental in the solving vital problems in regenerative medicine through the introduction of basic remedies that provides frameworks and highly accessible sources of osteopromotive analogues of bioceramic monoliths, nanofibres, micro and macrospheres. The clinical success of any future regenerative implants will be dependent on the production of highly proficient scaffolds that biologically operates at the nano-, micro- and macroscopic levels. Moreover, the implant will also need to coordinate, assemble, and organize cells into tissues as well as releasing encapsulated chemical signals in a targeted way and convey them into the body. As a result, an increasing number of different types of compounds are being isolated from aquatic organisms and transformed into products for health applications, including controlled drug delivery and tissue engineering devices. Despite the fact that they are extremely effective, the development of these materials has their drawbacks that needs be addressed. This chapter reviews the current bioceramics and natural marine structures including their structure, morphology, and applications in regenerative medicine, bone grafts, and drug delivery. In addition, the extraction of biological materials such as proteins from marine materials will also be discussed. An example of this specific biomimicry is provided by filtering the microskeleton of Foraminifera and coralline microspheres. New selected strategies based on our research as well as the works of others concerning the engineering of new bone tissues based on biomimicry will be also examined.