What are Biomaterials?

Biomaterials are materials intended to repair or replace damaged or diseased human tissues and organs. The field of biomaterials forms one of the specialized areas in the broad, interdisciplinary field of bioengineering that applies engineering principles and methods to medicine, dentistry, agriculture, and the environment. Biomaterials research and development require close collaboration among materials scientists and engineers, biologists, chemists, mechanical engineers, and clinical scientists.

The rationale for early attempts to repair or replace damaged or diseased human tissues and organs has been to look for materials from outside the human body. Metallic implants synthetic biocompatible materials, and tissue grafts from human cadavers and other animal species have been the main choices. These materials have healed numerous human tissues and organs and will likely continue to demonstrate their effectiveness but they have inherent limitations such as immune rejection, possible transmission of pathogens, and limited lifetime.

Tissue Engineering

Tissue engineering has emerged as a promising approach for the regeneration of human tissues and organs affected by disease and injury. Tissue regeneration is achieved through implantation of living cells/tissues or stimulating cells to grow into an implanted, tissue-engineered construct. The construct consists of a biomaterial scaffold into which living cells are seeded and cultivated prior to implantation into the human body.

Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering at Missouri S&T & M.S. Program Structure
Demand for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Personnel and Products

Biomaterials Research

Adjustable Intraocular Lens
Cellular Biomechanics
Glass Beads for Medical Application
Antibacterial Glasses
Bio-Enamel on Titanium

Graduate Admission Criteria

Admission is normally awarded to those students who are ranked in the upper third of their baccalaureate graduating class or who have performed successfully at the graduate level. For international applicants, an undergraduate GPA equivalent of 70% is required. For domestic students a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) is required. To be admitted to the program, a GRE Quantitative (Q) plus Verbal (V) score of > 1100, and Analytical Writing Score (AW) of > 3.5 is required. For international applicants, a minimum TOEFL score of 570 (paper); 230 (computer); or 88 iBT is required. Note for the TOEFL: if the student has an MS degree from a US institution or has been studying in the US more than one year, applicants are not required to submit a TOEFL score. For further information go to the Admissions website at: http://admissions.mst.edu/index.html.

Regulations & Procedures

MSE Graduate Handbook

MSE Safety Manual