Bio-smart · Novel smart materials for biomedical application

Over the last decade, considerable progress has been achieved in the treatment of both traumatic skin injury, such as severe burns, or the treatment of chronic soft tissue injury, such as chronic ulcers, by the use of tissue engineering scaffolds within which either natural, or stem cell based tissue regeneration can take place. One of the problems of using scaffolds in hospital is bacterial infection, which tends to start at a focal point, and spread across the wound bed and by the time this is obvious enough to see, the infection is well-progressed and difficult to eradicate with either antibiotics, or silver or iodine dressings.This proposal seeks to develop a novel material, smart cryogels, capable of responding to specific “signalling molecules” released either by bacteria or as a product of the immune response; to be used as wound dressings, and as tissue engineering scaffolds. The strategy proposed in the proposal is to secure the antimicrobial agent inside the polymer matrix controlling its release until it is needed. This allows targeting of the areas affected by infection, with antimicrobial agents, thus performing micro-point treatment. The fast specific response also allows release of the antimicrobial agent at the first sign of bacterial colonisation, providing earlier treatment, preventing infection and bacterial spreading, thus providing better treatment. The ability to treat infection at an earlier stage will significantly improve the healing process, providing better treatment and reduction of cost.The potential benefits of the project are very high, as the novel smart macroporous materials which will be developed have clear clinical and commercial potential as delivery materials for diverse applications in medicine, such as biomaterials, sensing/diagnosis devises and drug delivery systems.