Development of a Prothrombogenic Bone Graft Substitute. The clinical demand for bone is massive and to counter this bone can be either harvested from the patient or bone substitutes are used. The success or failure of a bone substitute is determined the instant it come into contact with blood. The surfaces of traditional biomaterials induce a foreign body reaction. The aim of this project is to test the bone forming capacity of a biomaterial that is optimised to produce a natural response from ....Development of a Prothrombogenic Bone Graft Substitute. The clinical demand for bone is massive and to counter this bone can be either harvested from the patient or bone substitutes are used. The success or failure of a bone substitute is determined the instant it come into contact with blood. The surfaces of traditional biomaterials induce a foreign body reaction. The aim of this project is to test the bone forming capacity of a biomaterial that is optimised to produce a natural response from the blood. This response will lead to the formation new viable tissue and eventually bone. Such a material will cause faster bone healing, less pain from graft sites, shorter hospital stays and shorter waiting lists. Read moreRead less
Novel Drug Delivery Systems. The polymer based structures targeted for production in this project will bring unique capabilities to the field of drug delivery. A multi-drug delivery platform is expected to bring significant improvements in administering therapeutic drugs for a wide range of illnesses and applications. This will have profound effects on the quality of life for those suffering from epilepsy or requiring stent implants. Here we will demonstrate the capabilities of these novel polym ....Novel Drug Delivery Systems. The polymer based structures targeted for production in this project will bring unique capabilities to the field of drug delivery. A multi-drug delivery platform is expected to bring significant improvements in administering therapeutic drugs for a wide range of illnesses and applications. This will have profound effects on the quality of life for those suffering from epilepsy or requiring stent implants. Here we will demonstrate the capabilities of these novel polymer structures both in-vitro and in-vivo.Read moreRead less
Advanced Materials for Stents. The polymer based materials targeted for production in this project will bring unique capabilities to the field of stent design. A multi-component degradable stent system is expected to bring significant improvements in vascular therapeutic treatments for a wide range of illnesses and applications. This will have significant advantages over current treatment and will have a positive impact on the quality of life of patients. The project brings together world leader ....Advanced Materials for Stents. The polymer based materials targeted for production in this project will bring unique capabilities to the field of stent design. A multi-component degradable stent system is expected to bring significant improvements in vascular therapeutic treatments for a wide range of illnesses and applications. This will have significant advantages over current treatment and will have a positive impact on the quality of life of patients. The project brings together world leaders in their respective fields to address a highly multidisciplinary are of research and will provide excellent training for the PhDs and post doctoral research associates, enabling them to work in and contribute to the development of new biomedical industries in Australia.Read moreRead less
Development and characterisation of novel hydrogel systems for drug delivery. The aims of this project are to develop and characterise hydrogel formulations for delivery of active agents, such as protein drugs, and to examine the biological responses to drug loaded hydrogels. In many medical and industrial fields, it is advantageous to control the release of active agents. Controlled release can decrease the dose of active that must be administered, sustain a more constant level of the agent ....Development and characterisation of novel hydrogel systems for drug delivery. The aims of this project are to develop and characterise hydrogel formulations for delivery of active agents, such as protein drugs, and to examine the biological responses to drug loaded hydrogels. In many medical and industrial fields, it is advantageous to control the release of active agents. Controlled release can decrease the dose of active that must be administered, sustain a more constant level of the agent in the environment and can localise the agent at the site where it is needed. This project will advance the theoretical knowledge of polymer degradation combined with protein release, will develop controlled release hydrogel technology that can be applied to medical devices and will train a postgraduate student in biomaterials and drug delivery.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668541
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$260,000.00
Summary
Infrastructure for design and testing of implantable and non-invasive intelligent medical devices. This application requests infrastructure funding to ensure the capability of the UTS and UNSW biomedical engineering teams to develop tomorrow's biomedical devices. It will enable research in the field of intelligent medical devices, either non-invasive devices (diabetes monitoring, brain-computer interfaces, home telecare) or those which are fully implanted (heart pumps, bionic eyes). Such biomedi ....Infrastructure for design and testing of implantable and non-invasive intelligent medical devices. This application requests infrastructure funding to ensure the capability of the UTS and UNSW biomedical engineering teams to develop tomorrow's biomedical devices. It will enable research in the field of intelligent medical devices, either non-invasive devices (diabetes monitoring, brain-computer interfaces, home telecare) or those which are fully implanted (heart pumps, bionic eyes). Such biomedical devices will save lives and improve the quality of life of many people. The commercial benefit to Australia flows from the international export of such devices. Based on this approach there will be substantial savings in health care costs, with patients able to resume a better quality of life at home, rather than in institutional care.Read moreRead less
Functionalised nanostructured polythiophenes: novel platforms for bionics. The nanostructured organic polymer materials targeted for production in this project will bring unique capabilities to the field of muscle regeneration. A multi-modal stimulation platform is expected to bring significant improvements in muscle cell growth. This will have profound effects on the quality of life for those suffering from neuromuscular disorders or other traumas that require muscle regeneration. This project ....Functionalised nanostructured polythiophenes: novel platforms for bionics. The nanostructured organic polymer materials targeted for production in this project will bring unique capabilities to the field of muscle regeneration. A multi-modal stimulation platform is expected to bring significant improvements in muscle cell growth. This will have profound effects on the quality of life for those suffering from neuromuscular disorders or other traumas that require muscle regeneration. This project will demonstrate the capabilities of these nanostructures in-vitro.Read moreRead less
Wet-Spinning Novel Multi-Functional Bio-Synthetic Platforms. The project will deliver new advanced materials for novel biomedical devices such as nanostructured electrodes and tunable drug delivery systems. It will develop a very versatile and low-cost technology that is well-suited for overcoming some of the current limitations in exploiting nanomaterials in nanoscience and biomedical industries. The research will benefit existing biomedical industries in Australia and provide opportunities for ....Wet-Spinning Novel Multi-Functional Bio-Synthetic Platforms. The project will deliver new advanced materials for novel biomedical devices such as nanostructured electrodes and tunable drug delivery systems. It will develop a very versatile and low-cost technology that is well-suited for overcoming some of the current limitations in exploiting nanomaterials in nanoscience and biomedical industries. The research will benefit existing biomedical industries in Australia and provide opportunities for new start-up companies, as well as potentially attracting biomedical industries from overseas to establish a presence in Australia.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775684
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$230,000.00
Summary
The polymer pharmaceutical/drug characterization and processing facility. The Australian population is ageing, and this is leading to ever increasing burdens upon our health system. In addition new understanding of disease states has lead to a demand for improved materials for drug delivery and for tissue regeneration. This proposal will lead to novel biomaterials designed to meet these demands. Polymers are seen as essential elements for construction of such biomedical devices due to the myriad ....The polymer pharmaceutical/drug characterization and processing facility. The Australian population is ageing, and this is leading to ever increasing burdens upon our health system. In addition new understanding of disease states has lead to a demand for improved materials for drug delivery and for tissue regeneration. This proposal will lead to novel biomaterials designed to meet these demands. Polymers are seen as essential elements for construction of such biomedical devices due to the myriad forms in which they can be made, and the large number of different materials to choose from. This proposal will lead to the formation of the PolyPharma network which will produce polymeric biomaterials to benefit our health industries.Read moreRead less
The Material Science of Biomimetic Soft Network Composites. Nature combines stiff and strong collagen fibres intertwined within a weak polymer matrix of proteoglycans into soft tissues with outstanding mechanical durability and biological properties. We converge a biomimetic design strategy inspired in the architecture of natural soft tissues and a novel additive manufacturing technology termed melt electrowriting (MEW) to manufacture advanced biomimetic soft network composites (BSNC). The SNCs ....The Material Science of Biomimetic Soft Network Composites. Nature combines stiff and strong collagen fibres intertwined within a weak polymer matrix of proteoglycans into soft tissues with outstanding mechanical durability and biological properties. We converge a biomimetic design strategy inspired in the architecture of natural soft tissues and a novel additive manufacturing technology termed melt electrowriting (MEW) to manufacture advanced biomimetic soft network composites (BSNC). The SNCs are composed of a weak polymer matrix and a MEW reinforcing fibrous phase printed at the nanometre scale, containing patterns mimicking the natural tissue architectures. Advanced computational tools are applied for the rational design of the SNC while reducing costs and times associated to experimental work.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100128
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,000.00
Summary
Engineering microenvironments to regulate osteocyte 3D networks in vitro. Most knowledge of bone is based on only a fraction of cells found in bone because the majority of cells in our bones (called osteocyte cell networks) cannot easily be grown or studied outside the body. This results in the inability to understand how the bone organ functions. Using bioinspired engineering, this project will use advanced biomaterials to biofabricate, for the first time, osteocyte cell networks in vitro. By u ....Engineering microenvironments to regulate osteocyte 3D networks in vitro. Most knowledge of bone is based on only a fraction of cells found in bone because the majority of cells in our bones (called osteocyte cell networks) cannot easily be grown or studied outside the body. This results in the inability to understand how the bone organ functions. Using bioinspired engineering, this project will use advanced biomaterials to biofabricate, for the first time, osteocyte cell networks in vitro. By unravelling how they are formed and controlled by manipulating their microenvironment, we will discover how different types of bones are formed. The benefits will be a valuable tool for the bone research community, allowing unresolved questions to be addressed in the future, such as how bone forms, repairs, and remodels.Read moreRead less