Research: Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering plays a leading role in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering research within the University of Sheffield. A fuller description of biomaterials and tissue engineering research (which involves the departments of Engineering Materials, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science and collaborators within the clinical departments of the Dental and Medical Schools) can be seen on the website for the University Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering.
Research Summary and Principle Aims
- Strong interdisciplinary research in response to clinical need; one of very few UK groups to deliver practical tissue engineering solutions through to clinic.
- Developing strategies for 3D skin tissue engineering using novel scaffolds, bioreactors and mechanical stimulation.
- Expanding into tissue engineering of nerve, bladder, urethra, bone and cartilage
- Introduction optical non-invasive imaging of tissue engineered constructs.
- Ongoing development of bionanotechnology and biointerface science for diagnostics and drug/gene delivery.
The Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering group is an interdisciplinary team with state-of-the-art equipment including clean rooms and expertise in clinical delivery and evaluation, cell and tissue engineering, polymeric biomaterials, surface chemistry, optical and chemical characterisation and the modelling of biological systems. Our research translates our fundamental knowledge into clinical and commercial delivery of engineered tissues. Our aim is to engineer a breadth of tissues for both clinical delivery and for use as physiologically realistic test bed models. Our research requires the integration of novel materials, mechanical and chemical stimulation of cellular constructs using bioreactors and the development of non-invasive cell and tissue imaging (e.g. OCT, confocal, 2-photon). Challenges in real-time non-invasive imaging revolve around extending the depth, resolution and versatility of the imaging modalities to probe each stage in the construct development. Advances in biomaterials scaffold design are evolving through established links with the Department of Chemistry focussing on enhanced material functionally and novel 3D processing routes. Strengths in polymeric biomaterials and biointerface science are also being exploited for a range of biotechnology applications including microfluidics, biosensing and the delivery of therapeutic agents.
View the Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering website
Selected Projects
- Electrospun scaffolds (BBSRC: £504,000)
- Two-Photon Imaging: From polymeric materials to engineered tissues (BBSRC: £241,039)
- Polymeric vesicles with topologically controlled functionalities (EPSRC: £208,705)
- Peptide functional stimuli (EPSRC: £255,009)
- Basic Technology: The Snomipede (EPSRC: £1,475,742)
- Imaging of 3D engineered tissues (BBSRC: £184,000)
- Clinical and pre-clinical development of an autologous cell therapy for difficult to heal wounds (Celltran Ltd: £320,966)
- Bioengineering and tissue engineering of the human cornea (BBSRC: £156,225)
- Culture of epithelial autografts (Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: £136,625)
- A new sensor for bacteria using binding or specific degradation of stimuli responsive polymers (EPSRC: £315,035)
- Micropatterning of functional plasma polymers for bioarrays (EPSRC: £127,735)
- Gel free proteomics: High throughput microfluidic shotgun analysis for organisms (EPSRC: £332,444)
- Analysis of bone cell responses to compressive strains in 3 dimensional scaffolds, for bone tissue engineering (Royal Society: £14,836)
Key publications
- MacNeil S, ‘Progress and Opportunities in Tissue Engineering of Skin’, Nature Insights, Nature, 445, 874-880, (2007).
- Cantón I, Sarwar U, Kemp EH, Ryan AJ, MacNeil S and Haycock JW, ‘Real time detection of stress in 3D tissue engineered constructs using NF-kB activation in transiently transfected human dermal fibroblast cells’, Tissue Eng., 13(5), 1013-1024 (2007).
- Fairfull-Smith K, Redon PMJ, Haycock JW, Williams, NH, ‘Monofunctionalised resorcinarenes’, Tetrahedron Letters, 48, 1317-1319 (2007).
- Sun T, Norton D, Ryan AJ, MacNeil S, Haycock JW, ‘Investigation of fibroblast and keratinocyte cell-scaffold interactions using a novel 3D cell culture system’, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, 18(2), 321-328 (2007).
- Salim M, G Mishra, B O'Sullivan , PC Wright, SL McArthur, ‘Non-fouling microfluidic chip produced by radio frequency tetraglyme plasma deposition’, Lab on a Chip, 7: 523-525 (2007).
- Shard AG, JD Whittle, AJ Beck, PN Brookes, NA Bullett, RA Talib, A Mistry, DBarton, SL McArthur, ‘A NEXAFS examination of unsaturation in plasma polymers of allylamine and propylamine’, Journal of Physical Chemistry: B, 108 (33), 12472-12480, (2004).
- Battaglia, G.; Tomas, S.; Ryan, A. J. 'Lamellarsomes: metastable polymeric multilamellar aggregates', Soft Matter, 1, 470-475, (2007).
- Battaglia, G. & Ryan, A. J. 'The evolution of vesicles from bulk lamellar gels’, Nature Materials, 4, 869–876 (2005).
- N Ugryumova,S.V. Gangnus and S.J. Matcher, '3-D optic axis determination using variable-incidence-angle polarisation OCT', Opt Lett. (2006).
- Ugryumova N, Attenburrow D.P., Winlove C.P. and Matcher S.J., 'The collagen structure of equine articular cartilage, characterized using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography', J. Phys. D, 38(15), 2612-2619, (2005).
- G.C. Reilly, S Radin, A Chen, P. Ducheyne, ‘Differential alkaline phosphatase responses of rat and human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells to 45S5 bioactive glass’, Biomaterials, 28, 4091-4097, (2007).
- G.C. Reilly, T.R. Haut, C.E. Yellowley, H.J. Donahue and C.R. Jacobs, ‘Fluid flow induced PGE2 release by osteocyte-like cells is reduced by glycocalyx degradation whereas intracellular calcium signals are not’, Biorheology, 40(6), 591-603, (2003).
People
- Professor Sheila MacNeil, Professor of Tissue Engineering, focuses on the engineering of skin and epithelial tissues.
- Professor John Haycock, Professor of Bioengineering, focuses on peripheral nerve and skin engineering and inflammatory responses.
- Dr Steven Matcher, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering, is developing novel biophotonic tools to aid the characterisation of biological tissues.
- Dr Ihtesham ur Rehman, Reader in Biomedical Material, the focus of his research has been the identification and understanding of the fundamental mechanisms by which chemical responses are mediated by nano- to micro-scale variations in biomaterials, with the main emphasis on the development of synthetic inorganic bone analogue materials and characterisation of natural tissues, including hard and soft tissues.
- Dr Chuh K Chong, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering, his area of research aims towards the 6R´s, i.e. providing a better Remedy for failing tissues or organs, by Restoring functions through either minimally invasive surgery/surgical Reconstruction or Replacement, Repair and Regeneration. His ultimate objective is targeted towards predictive and preventive medicines.
- Dr Frederik Claeyssens, Lecturer in Biomaterials, has research expertise which focuses mainly on laser processing of biomaterials, and its applications.
- Dr Gwen Reilly, Lecturer in Tissue Engineering, has expertise in the mechanical conditioning of musculoskeletal tissues and adult stem cell differentiation.