Biomaterials and biomaterial based therapeutics (e.g. polymer-microencapsulated cells, engineered tissue scaffolds) are agonists of biological responses. “Conventional” biomaterial design has aimed to maximize biocompatibility by avoiding the often hostile responses – including thrombosis (“blood clotting”), inflammation, and fibrous encapsulation. These biomaterials then incorporate a combination of exogenous cells, drugs, and growth factors to promote therapeutic effects through non-physiological signaling.
It has been more recently shown that biomaterials can be designed to signal a wide spectrum of host responses – including regenerative responses which minimize inflammation while promoting angiogenesis, wound healing, and overall host tissue repair. Our challenge is to translate what is known about biological mechanisms to help paint a picture of the host response to our novel, regenerative biomaterials – and to use this understanding to design useful biomaterial-based therapeutics.
The lab synthesises new, regenerative polymers or formulates existing polymers into novel forms tailor-made for specific therapeutic applications. The responses to these materials are assessed through surface chemistry and structure, cell-material interactions, and functional performance. The complex nature of these studies typically warrants in vivo animal experiments and detailed follow-up analysis – both of which are benefitted by the extensive health science network available at the University of Toronto.
Special emphasis in these studies is given to Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, with our primary applications described below. The design of biomaterial-based therapies often involves exploiting chemical or biomedical engineering principles, making them natural vehicles for chemical or biomedical engineering students to build on their interests in biology and biomedical applications. Nevertheless, some students in the lab don’t have an engineering background; since the lab has a strong biological focus it is still a good learning environment for life science students.
Current research focuses: