BIOELECTRICSURFACE

Electrically modified biomaterials surface

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cardiovascular diseases cause half the deaths in the EU. It is also the main cause of years of life lost (over 30 per cent) in early death thus causing huge pressure on the labour force and family earnings. The problem is becoming more acute in Central and Eastern European countries. Due to the ageing population in the EU, osteoporosis related bone fractures have almost doubled in the last decade. It is estimated that 40 percent of women over 50 years in age will suffer from fractures due to low density bone. The European Commission considers the application of nanotechnology an important research strategy to address these problems. For this, design and control of biomaterial at the nanometer scale is set as a strategic research priority. Europe is, however, seriously under-represented in the global market for nanotherapeutics, where the United States dominates with three-quarter of the market share. While the drive for nanoscale understanding of biological interaction can be high, the application of this knowledge in marketable devices should also be prioritised. Here, we propose electrical modification of biomaterials surface to manipulate surface charge that will mediate bio/non bio interactions in vivo. We propose novel nanoscale techniques to probe this surface charge at the nanometer scale so that we have a quantitative insight to biological interaction at the biomedical device surfaces. Such an approach will help us to scale up electrical modification in cardiovascular stents, urological stents, orthopedic implants and photosterilisation devices. The research proposed here will not only provide nanoscale understanding of biological interactions on biomaterials surface but also result in novel applications and devices, which will penetrate into the market in short to medium term.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

European and Israeli scientists have joined forced to investigate biomaterials used to treat sufferers of cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cardiovascular disease is responsible for over half of all deaths in the EU and puts huge pressure on the labour force and family earnings. Meanwhile, due to the ageing population in the EU, osteoporosis-related bone fractures have almost doubled in the last decade - it is estimated that 40;% of women over 50 will suffer from fractures due to low density bone. The European Commission believes nanotechnology could help address these problems and has made the design and control of biomaterial at the nano-metre scale a strategic research priority.

One of the projects to benefit from this focus is the 'Electrically modified biomaterials surface' (Bioelectricsurface) project, whose team has been working with the aim of decreasing patients' trauma and the risk of death through a detailed understanding of nano-scale interactions of biological systems with biomaterials' surfaces. During the last year, the researchers have developed methods for electrical modifications of three leading biomaterials, namely hydroxyapatite (HA), polyurethane (PU) and titanium dioxide (TiO2).

They have also studied biological interactions with these electrically modified surfaces, noting that preliminary studies showed a selective response of biological species, such as antibodies and cells, towards charged surfaces.

The team is now developing techniques to further enhance this knowledge of and to exploit it in biomedical devices. The goal is to develop novel therapeutic devices in four specific biomedical applications: cardiovascular stents, urological stents, orthopaedic implants and grafts, and anti-microbial fabrics.