Phospholipid Strategies in Biomineralization and Biomaterials Research

■ Abstract This review summarizes recent advances and future research trends in the field of phospholipid-based biomaterials. Lipids play an important role in biomineralization and countless other biological processes, and they are receiving increasing attention for the synthesis of new biomimetic biomaterials. Several emerging strategies in biomaterials research take advantage of phospholipids to compartmentalize and/or template chemical reactions via self-assembled structures such as liposomes and tubules. Still others exploit the inherent biocompatibility of phospholipids and phospholipid-mimetic materials for use as novel tissue-contacting biomaterials that mimic biological membranes. In the future, phospholipid-based materials may be increasingly utilized as tools for the manipulation of cell and tissue responses to biomaterials, for controlled drug release, for reconstructive surgery, and as tissue-engineered constructs.