From biocompatible polymers, to spider silk our scientists and engineers are developing new materials to deliver drugs into the body, with precision and with controlled release of the therapeutics. Biomaterials present great opportunities for supporting the body’s own healing processes, from resorbable materials to tissue scaffolds promoting bone and tissue repair.
This has been commercialised through our spin-out company Locate Bio.
The family of injectable scaffolds uses TAOS® (Targeted Orchestrated Signalling matrix) technology. These solidify within the body and can be used to support tissue growth and precisely deliver cells or protein therapies via minimally invasive surgical procedures.
Read more about the capabilities of TAOS® by Locate Bio
Kevin Shakesheff, Professor of Advanced Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering
Injectable bone material can be squirted into broken bones and hardens within minutes.
This has been commercialised by our spin-out company Locate Bio
The TAOS® 'injectable bone' material can be squirted into broken bones and hardens within minutes. The substance, which looks similar to toothpaste, fills bone defect areas to provide both mechanical integrity and a porous osteoconductive network for bone regeneration.
The polymer surfaces (and porous structure) support the migration of osteoblast progenitor cells and their differentiation into bone-forming secretory osteoblasts. As new bone is formed, the TAOS® polymer is resorbed from the site of implantation, thereby facilitating the restoration of normal bone contours and biomechanics.
Expert: Kevin Shakesheff, Professor of Advanced Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering
Read more about the capabilities of TAOSTM by Locate Bio
Our experts are developing resorbable materials to replace, repair or support broken bones whilst they are healing, removing the need for metal implants.
BENcH project
Currently, fractured bones which require surgical intervention are supported by metal implants, pins and screws. Metals are far stiffer than bone and this can affect the healing process and lead to repeat surgeries. Polymers are a much closer match to the mechanical properties of bones, and once the bone is healed, polymer pins and screws will degrade naturally within the body.
During the BENcH project we developed nano particles which can control the rate of degradation.
Experts:
Read more about supporting fractured bone during healing
Advanced Materials Research Group
The Biobones team worked with a consultant maxillofacial surgeon at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham to develop a composite material (using long fibre-reinforced composites) with similar mechanical properties to bone, but includes a fully resorbable biodegradable glass fibre to allow new bone to grow.
This technology had promising clinical trials and is in the process of commercialisation.
Experts
Read more about Biobones resorbable material to replace bone implants
Plastics Inside Us - Royal Society Summer Exhibition
We are developing minimally invasive bone tissue regeneration for prophylactic treatment of osteoporosis, using bioresorbable spheres.
By targeting at-risk areas prone to fracture (eg hip and spine), we can help to prevent fractures through this prophylactic treatment.
The highly porous bioresorbable spheres are made of calcium phosphate, which is the same make-up as bone. Filling the spheres with the body’s own stem cells, the calcium phosphates degrade leaving the stem cells to regenerate the patient’s bone.
Following £1.2m NIHR funding, we are now looking towards pre-clinical trials for this exciting technology.
Read more about bone tissue regeneration
This is targeted at early stages of osteoarthritis and traumatic injury.This technology is now at the stage of undertaking the first in vivo study.
Joel Segal, Associate Professor in Biomedical Manufacturing
Read more about our 3D bioprinting
Interdisciplinary Research Cluster in Additive Biofabrication
Regenerative Medicines and Cellular Therapies Research Division
Read the press release
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/biomaterial-discovery-enables-3d-printing
Read more about our electrospinning capabilities
Read about our Knowledge Transfer Partnership with The Electrospinning Company
Next Generation Biomaterials Discovery is a five-year, £6.5m EPSRC-funded programme led by The University of Nottingham, aiming to make the leap from 2D to 3D in the development of advanced materials and realise the true potential of regenerative medicine, advanced drug delivery and medical devices for the future.
We are focussing on chemistries for new self-assembling delivery vehicles, and formulation of new particulates with enhanced drug compatibility using structure-informed nanoparticle libraries.
Find out more about drug delivery in our EPSRC Next Generation Biomaterials Discovery
As part of the Next Generation Biomaterials Discovery Programme, we are targeting delivery of complex anti-cancer therapeutics, and innovative antimicrobials, including anti-virulence agents in dynamic controlled matrices for new anti-resistance therapies.
Delivering cancer drugs locally within the tumour resection cavity bypasses the blood-brain--barrier and can achieve a high effective dose locally whilst maintaining a low toxic dose systematically.
This technology has shown significantly prolonged survival in preclinical tests.
Children's Brain Tumour Research Centre
We have developed a regenerative therapy made from human amniotic membrane, which is used by ophthalmologists as a sight-saving wound healing treatment.
The unique biological dressing ‘Omnigen’ can be used as would healing treatment for ophthalmic diseases and wounds including abrasions, ulcers, chemical burns and more serious perforations through planned operations on the eye.
This technology has been commercialised by spin-out company NuVision Biotherapies and it is being used in the NHS and by vetinary practices in the UK and by clinicians internationally.
The latest innovation is a special contact lens, OmniLenz, which now allows application of Omnigen in the clinic without the need for complex and cost surgery.
Omnigen can be shipped and stored at room temperature and can be quickly and easily applied as easy as a contact lens. When applied, the natural moisture in the eye works to rehydrate the patch and immediately delivers pain reduction and antibacterial capability whilst healing the eye. Omnigen can remain in the eye as a type of scaffold on to which eye cells can grow as the organ heals, or can be removed once the wound healing process has been achieved.
The wound healing benefits of Omnigen are now being explored in the treatment of other soft tissue wounds. A clinical trial has recently started with Derby hospital exploring the treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers with Omnigen as a wound healing graft for non-healing wounds.
. Read more about Omingen's healing capabilities
NuVision - Healing corneal disease and trauma
We generate spider silk in E. coli that can be used to generate fibres, hydrogels or films that can be used to support tissue growth and wound healing.
Using un-natural amino acid mutagenesis we can introduce amino acids that have very selective reactivity into the silk proteins allowing ligands to be site-specifically attached using a variety of ‘click’ chemistry reactions.
These can then be modified with drugs, imaging agents or other ligands to add new properties to the silk including making antibacterial silks and silks that can be used as temporary scaffolds to support mammalian tissue growth. We are exploring its application in wound healing.
Visit ArachNotts - SpiderLab
By delivering microparticles alongside transplanted cells into the liver we can provide controlled release of growth factors and immunomodulatory molecules that support the survival and engraftment of the transplanted cells.
We have developed polymeric microparticles that preferentially attach to cells already present in the liver. These microparticles are loaded with different molecules that are released in a controlled and sustained way to create a microenvironment in the liver that supports the incoming cell populations. In collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, we are currently undertaking pre-clinical trials of this new technology.
UKRI Regenerative Medicine Platform Acellar/Smart materials hub
Email: info@healthcaretechnologies.ac.uk
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