Huinan LiuProfessor and Assoc. Dean for Student Academic AffairsBioengineering Dept huinanl@ucr.edu(951) 827-2944
UNS: Engineering Infection-Free Implants for Skeletal Reconstruction
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AWARD NUMBER
007571-002
FUND NUMBER
33158
STATUS
Active
AWARD TYPE
3-Grant
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AWARD EXECUTION DATE
6/27/2015
BEGIN DATE
10/1/2015
END DATE
9/30/2018
AWARD AMOUNT
$315,569
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Sponsor Information
SPONSOR AWARD NUMBER
SPONSOR
SPONSOR TYPE
FUNCTION
Organized Research
PROGRAM NAME
Proposal Information
PROPOSAL NUMBER
15050519
PROPOSAL TYPE
New
ACTIVITY TYPE
Basic Research
PI Information
PI
Liu, Huinan
PI TITLE
Other
PI DEPTARTMENT
Bioengineering
PI COLLEGE/SCHOOL
Bourns College of Engineering
CO PIs
Project Information
ABSTRACT
More than 50 million people per year worldwide need synthetic implants to help recover from bone loss or injury resulting from trauma or disease. This project seeks to develop a new class of materials that, for the first time, has all of the properties of an ideal implant: it should support body weight and mechanical stress, suppress infection, enhance bone healing, and ultimately dissolve harmlessly as bone tissue grows back. While more than 100 synthetic bone grafts are approved for clinical use, none of them has all of these properties. This research not only addresses the challenges in treating critical-sized large bone defects to restore mobility and independent life of patients, but also significantly reduces the clinical dependence on antibiotics and expensive growth factors, thus reducing associated side effects (e.g., antibiotic resistance) and health care costs. The outcome of this research will lead to the next-generation implants that have the combined advantages of current metallic and polymeric implants while eliminating their problems. More broadly, this project will open up new avenues of research in smart resorbable materials, build the foundation for practical design guidelines, benefit millions of patients with skeletal injuries or diseases, and attract significant interests of implant industry for technology transfer. These, in turn, will increase the competitiveness of U.S. companies in the global medical device market. The integrated research and education plans will also have broader impacts on graduate, undergraduate, and pre-college education as well as public awareness about engineering solutions that benefit health care. In collaboration with the existing programs at the University of California, Riverside, the Principal Investigator will attract underrepresented minority students and students with disabilities, motivate pre-college students through fun biomaterial modules with ALPHA center and MESA Schools Programs, and educate the public through collaborative events with Bourns Science and Engineering Day.
The overall objective of this project is to engineer a novel resorbable antibacterial osteoinductive implant (RAOI) that will bear weight and resist bending and torsion. Specifically, the RAOI consists of bioresorbable, biocompatible and mechanically strong magnesium alloys as the bulk substrate and engineered nanostructures on the surface to prevent infection and enhance bone regeneration. The novelty of RAOI design lies in its integrated multifunctionality that can potentially meet ALL criteria for an ideal implant for the first time. To unlock the full potential of magnesium alloys, we must address the critical scientific and engineering challenge of controlling their degradation rate. Our novel approach is to create engineered nanostructures on the surface of magnesium alloys to achieve the three key functions simultaneously: (1) modulate degradation rate of bulk magnesium substrates, (2) reduce adhesion and viability of pathogenic bacteria, and (3) enhance adhesion and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells for faster bone healing.(Abstract from NSF)
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