Symposium L: Biomimetic Nanoscale Platforms, Particles, and Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications

2012 MRS Fall Meeting

Biomimetic Nanoscale Platforms, Particles, and Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications

A number of debilitating and deadly diseases (e.g., cancer, infectious diseases, neurodegenerative conditions, etc.) affect tens of millions of people worldwide every year. The development of breakthrough biomedical technologies, which have the potential to significantly impact conventional treatment and contribute to improved methodologies toward prevention, diagnostics, imaging, and therapies, is a daunting task. In order to meet this challenge, many scientists, engineers, and medical researchers have looked to nanotechnology as a disruptive paradigm, offering hope for those afflicted with one of these diseases. Biomimetic substrates, nano-particles, and microfluidic devices are capable of modeling biological systems, detecting diseases at early stages, identifying and imaging its location within the body, and delivering therapeutics to a specific region. As with all new biomedical tools, variations in the unique properties of these materials (size, topology, functional moieties, modulus, and chemistry) directly impact their interaction with the biological medium and surrounding environment. The importance of controlled design and fabrication, and subsequent characterization of the materials, should be emphasized. Research in this field brings together synthesis of functional materials, surface chemistry/coatings, and identification of targeting agents, to name a few. The development of new biomimetic nanoscale materials for biomedical applications requires a collective effort in multiple disciplines covering all realms of expertise. This symposium aims at providing opportunities for intensive discussions and the exchange of ideas by bringing together scientists, engineers, and clinicians working from these various fields to advance the tools for biomedical research with emphasis on cancer as a leading cause of death.

Session topics will include (but will not be limited to):

Nanomaterials 

  • Inorganic & organic nanoparticles
  • Engineered polymers and scaffolds
  • Relationship of nanomaterial properties to biological reaction

In-vitro/In-vivo imaging/diagnostic agents/devices 

  • Nanomagnetic agents
  • Nanophotonic/optical agents
  • Nanothermal/radiological agents
  • Fluorescence imaging using 1 and 2-photon excitation
  • Single molecule fluorescence studies
  • MRI contrast imaging and sensing

In vitro/In vivo sensor technology  

  • Biological assays based on fluorescence, magnetic contrast, plasmon resonance
  • Förster-energy-transfer based assays (ensemble and single molecule)
  • Magnetically actuated and controlled biological processes

Surface chemistry and conjugation 

  • High specificity chemistry and coatings
  • Development of bio-orthogonal coupling strategies
  • Design and synthesis of high affinity ligands, peptides,
  • oligomers, aptomers, proteins and antibodies
  • Self-assembled monolayers

Therapeutics 

  • Encapsulation (e.g., liposome, micelle)
  • Polymer-drug conjugates

Model biological systems 

  • Hydrogels and scaffolds
  • Microfluidic devices
  • Micropatterned surfaces

Invited Speakers Include:

Warren Chan (Univ. of Toronto, Canada), Jianjun Cheng (Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Benoit Dubertret (Ecole de Physique et Chimie de Paris, ESPCI, France), Neil Forbes (Univ. of Massachusetts), Peter Friedl (Radboud Univ., Nethetherlands), Brendan Harley (Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), David Mooney (Harvard Univ.), David Odde (Univ. of Minnesota), Andrew Putnam (Univ. of Michigan), Tatiana Segura (Univ. of California, Los Angeles), Shimon Weiss (Univ. of California, Los Angeles).

Symposium Organizers

Nicole Moore
National Cancer Institute
MSC 2580, 31 Center Dr., Bethesda, MD 20892
Tel 301-435-2486
Fax 301-496-7807
nicole.moore@nih.gov

Matthew Becker
University of Akron
Goodyear Polymer Center #517, Akron, OH 44325-3909
Tel 330-972-2834
Fax 330-972-5290
becker@uakron.edu

Sonia Grego
RTI International
Center for Materials and Electronic Technologies
3040 Cornwallis Rd., Research Triangle Park, NC 27713
Tel 919-248-4181
Fax 919-248-1955
sgrego@rti.org

Saber Hussain
Air Force Research Laboratory
Area B, Bldg. 837, 2729 R St., WPAF Base, OH- 45433-5707
Tel 937-904-9517
saber.hussain@wpafb.af.mil

Vesselin Paunov
University of Hull
Surfactant and Colloid Group
Dept. of Chemistry
Hull, HU6 7RX, United Kingdom
Tel 44-1482-465660
Fax 44-1482-466410
v.n.paunov@hull.ac.uk

Shelly Peyton
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
159 Goessmann Laboratory, 686 N. Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01002
Tel 413-545-1133
Fax 413-545-1647
speyton@ecs.umass.edu 

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