Peter X. Ma
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Injectable and Self-integrating Hydrogels
5933 – Injectable hydrogels that can encapsulate pharmaceuticals or regenerative cells allow for the delivery of active biological species directly to a target area. These materials have potential to aid in next generation drug delivery and tissue engineering procedures such as the sustained release of hormonal medication or less invasive tissue regeneration techniques. Biocompatible hydrogels... Read More
Polymeric RNA Delivery Systems for Controlled Release
6382 – RNA-based therapeutics is a growing field of research which is expected to continue growth in coming years. Though few therapies have been commercialized to date, the uses of RNA extend to treatments addressing disease, genetic disorders, cancers and regenerative medicine among others. It is expected that by 2020 therapies based on RNA technologies will generate $1.2B in revenue. One... Read More
Nanofibrous Spongy Microspheres for Biological and Engineering Applications
6259 – This technology enables the creation of microspheres or nanospheres for a variety of applications such as drug delivery, tissue engineering and new construction materials. Controlling the microstructure of microspheres to fine tune drug release properties is a challenge. The life science and medical technology market for microspheres is estimated to be ~ $ 900 million by 2018. The... Read More
Porous Materials with High Surface Area
2150-1 – UM File # 2150.1 Background Membranes have been typically used for filtration, reverse osmosis (hyperfiltration), dialysis, pervaporation, and gas separation applications. A solid membrane can be made of synthetic polymers, natural macromolecules, inorganic compounds, ceramic or metallic materials, and are generally fabricated through sintering, stretching, extrusion, phase inversion and... Read More
Tubular Scaffolds for Tissue Regeneration
4630 – Cardiovascular disease is still the leading cause of mortality in the United States, with 1 million lives lost each year. Cardiovascular patients could benefit by using tissue-engineered living blood vessels as a better source of grafts. Scaffolds play a pivotal role in this tissue engineering but the structural design must consider biocompatibility and biodegradability of the polymers,... Read More
Drug Releasing Porous Materials for Tissue Repair and Regeneration
3600 – Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) have been shown to trigger new bone formation in animal models. Since the delivery of BMPs in a solution phase does not result in bone formation, strategies have focused on developing collagen matrices for the delivery of BMPs in vivo. Collagen matrices have been successful in preclinical and human clinical trials but still hold several shortcomings: (1)... Read More
Polymer Compositions and Nanofibrous Spheres
4229 – Biomaterials play pivotal roles in engineering tissue regeneration and repair. To fabricate an entire organ or a large piece of tissue for transplantation, a predesigned scaffold with the patient-specific anatomy is required. However, there are often irregular shaped defects and wounds that need to be filled and repaired in clinics. In such cases, fluid-like injectable materials are... Read More
Hydrophilic- Hydrophilic Block/Graft Copolymers and Nano/Micro Particles Containing Such Copolymers
4040 – Polymeric carriers with various shapes and architectures have been utilized as carriers for drug and gene delivery. In particular, polymeric micelles with a core-shell structure may enable the hydrophobic inner core to serves as a container for hydrophobic drugs, while the outer shell that is more hydrophilic can stabilize the colloids and extend their circulation time in the bloodstream... Read More
Porous and Nano-Fibrous Gelatin and Composite Materials
3942 – Porous materials are widely used, including in biomedical, industrial and household applications. Specific examples of these materials span from scaffolding for tissue engineering and regeneration, wound dressings, drug release matrices, to insulating or package material, impact absorbers, and membranes and filters. One of the limiting factors of such porous materials is their... Read More
Pulsatile Release Devices
3711 – Controlled drug delivery is crucial for optimal drug effectiveness in many cases (e.g. for parathyroid hormone (PTH)). Drug formulation is often aimed at optimizing drug availability, but new strategies to develop delivery mechanisms that can control drug release profiles are also being explore. Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a pulsatile release device... Read More
PDGF Releasing Matrices for Angiogenesis and Tissue Regeneration
3663 – Grafting materials (e.g., autografts, allografts) have been used to repair tissue loss from accidents and diseases. Limited attachment and the risk of pathogen transmission and immune rejection of the materials are however major concerns in grafting procedures. The field of tissue engineering has focused on developing new approaches to develop biological alternatives to harvested tissues... Read More
Immobilizing Particles onto Complex Surfaces
3511 – Incorporation of particles within a porous structure is useful in the development of scaffold materials that can be used for tissue engineering. Particle immobilization techniques often include treating particle-containing porous materials with solvents to provide strong adhesion between the porous materials and the particles. In some instances, liquid immobilization might not be... Read More
Particle-Containing Complex Porous Materials
3110 – Controlled release of biologically-active agents from a polymeric materials is a powerful means to deliver a therapeutic agent. In this approach, the therapeutic can be delivered to a localized area while minimizing unwanted systemic side effects, achieve high local dosage with small quantities of the therapeutic, and prevent unnecessary destruction of the molecule in delivery routes. The... Read More
Crosslinked Porous Material
2930 – Porous materials are widely used, including in biomedical, industrial and household applications. Specific examples of these materials span from scaffolding for tissue engineering and regeneration, wound dressings, drug release matrices, to insulating or package material, impact absorbers, and membranes and filters. One of the limiting factors of such porous materials is their... Read More
Porous Materials with High Surface Area
2150 – Membranes have been typically used for filtration, reverse osmosis (hyperfiltration), dialysis, pervaporation, and gas separation applications. A solid membrane can be made of synthetic polymers, natural macromolecules, inorganic compounds, ceramic or metallic materials, and are generally fabricated through sintering, stretching, extrusion, phase inversion and etching, or casting. Porous... Read More
Microtubular Materials and Material/Cell Constructs
1992 – Tissue engineering aims at creating biological alternatives to harvested tissues and organs for transplantation. Scaffolding plays a crucial role in the 3-dimensional neo tissue formation. Synthetic biodegradable polymers are attractive candidates for scaffolding fabrication because they do not carry the risk of pathogen transmission and immuno-rejection, and because they degrade and... Read More
Synthetic nano-scale fibrous extracellular matrix
1566 – Biodegradable polymers have been widely used as scaffolding materials to regenerate new tissues. In addition to material biocompatibility, physical parameters of the material is central in the successful integration of the seeded cells into the biomaterial as well as the integration of the construct into the host upon implantation. Some of these physical parameters include the form of the... Read More
Novel Porous Composite Materials by a Biomimetic Process - cf. 1456
1532 – Populations of stem cells that act as precursors for a variety of tissues are now isolatable and expandable in vitro. This capability, along with other advances in cell biology, have together given rise to the new field of tissue engineering. The field’s success in growing two-dimensional cultures of specialized cells has now led to the pivotal challenge of three-dimensional culturing.... Read More