Biomaterials

We are working on the development of novel biopolymers for regenerative device applications. Understanding how biopolymers interact with different cells helps us to prepare functional scaffolds and extracellular matrices to improve bio-functionality in tissue engineering and medical applications.

Finding the right balance in properties of biomaterials for biomedical applications is challenging to meet the requirements of the specific applications in the biomedical engineering field. We have recently developed a novel biocompatible composite with notable toughening behaviour and tailored degradation rate. The material was initially developed for the fabrication of tendon/ligament grafts; however, it shows several potential applications in the area of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. This new material has highly tunable properties and is suitable for use for additive manufacturing techniques. We have recently filed a patent to protect the composition of the material and are now focusing on commercialising the material through biomedical devices.

We are also collaborating with local industries and other academic groups to design functional hydrogel for bioprinting in tissue engineering applications.