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Sterility and Infection

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Biomedical Materials

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Abstract

Biomaterials implanted into the body need to be sterile in order to avoid infections which can lead to illness and even mortality. Sterility can be defined as the absence of all living organisms, particularly microorganisms. Indeed, the presence of one bacterium would render a medical device non-sterile. Nearly one-third of implant-related infections can be prevented by strictly following established infection control guidelines, but in a period of healthcare cost reductions, this is increasingly difficult to sustain.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, USA

    Showan N. Nazhat

  2. Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Division, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, London, WC, UK

    Anne M. Young

  3. Division of Microbial Diseases, Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, London, UK

    Jonathan Pratten

Authors
  1. Showan N. Nazhat
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  2. Anne M. Young
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  3. Jonathan Pratten
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Correspondence to Showan N. Nazhat .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Roger Narayan

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Nazhat, S.N., Young, A.M., Pratten, J. (2021). Sterility and Infection. In: Narayan, R. (eds) Biomedical Materials. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49206-9_20

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