Abstract: With the rapid advancement at the interface of medicine and engineering, as well as the emerging biomedical research, has formed a new research area of injectable biomaterials. Owing to their advantages in minimally invasive surgery, injectable biomaterials have been extensively investigated for biomedical research fields such as tissue repair and regeneration, medical imaging, precision diagnosis and therapy, and other minimally invasive therapies. Furthermore, many injectable biomaterials have been successfully translated into medical devices and products. Among injectable biomaterials, inorganic materials possess distinctive materiobiology properties, rheological properties, and unique self-setting behaviors, making them highly promising for biomedical applications including minimally invasive orthopedics, cancer theranostics and tissue repair. This review aims to introduce the basics of injectable inorganic materials and summarize their latest research advances and application progress. First, the fundamental concepts and governing principles of injectability are introduced, along with a discussion of key regulatory factors (e.g., geometric properties of the particles; liquid-to-solid ratio of the system, liquid phase viscosity, and physicochemical reactions). Second, clinicaly oriented research and development progress in inorganic injectable biomaterials are summarized, covering areas such as hard tissue repair, medical imaging diagnosis, cancer therapy, dermatology, and plastic surgery. Advantages and limitations of these materials are also analyzed. Finally, the key challenges and future research directions for injectable inorganic biomaterials are discussed. This article is expected to provide an overview of advancing application-oriented research and facilitating clinical translation of injectable inorganic biomaterials.

Key words: inorganic material, injectability, biomedical research, minimally invasive surgery, review