The Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare at CRIB uses cutting edge technologies to engineer bio-logically inspired material platforms for applications in the biomedical sector.Research Platforms
The inter and intra-cellular signaling, the molecular recognition event of sensing devices, and the interaction between nanomaterials and living matter are all complex phenomena whose investigation can strongly benefit of effective computational modeling. In particular, the synergistic combination of theoretical and experimental approaches allows one to understand and to dissect the subtle structure-property relationships that influence the effectiveness and the specificity of the system of interest.
By pursuing the aim of a direct comparison between experiments and simulations, the activity aims at developing a valuable tool for supporting the interpretation of ambiguous laboratory outputs and for driving the design of new materials toward new experimental directions.
The research activities of this platform are:
Proteomic, genomics and post genomics could benefit from materials science and nanotechnology, which may offer innovative solutions to some of the open questions, i.e.:
- low cost and high throughput gene or protein expression profiling methods;
- high reproducible methods to analyze specific antigen expression patterns and protein interactions in cells and sera at very low concentration;
- perform genotyping and haplotyping by using probes detectable on a single DNA strand at distances as low as 10 nucleotides apart;
- mass selection and mass characterization of macromolecules by using nano/molecular sieves
Recent advances in materials science and nanotechnologies have been emerging with precise control over material chemical, physical and morphological properties and with the enhanced capability to immobilize into/within synthetic platforms molecular signal for particular moieties detection. The objective of the research will be realization of new biosensor for a fast, high throughput and multiple detection of biomolecules by building into 3D platforms biomolecules recognizing moieties.
The research activities of this platform are:
Advancements in nanotechnology have had massive effects on pharmacology, medicine and engineering. In particular, nanomaterials are being largely used in biomedical applications thanks to their ability to interact with organs and tissues at the molecular and cellular levels.
Owing to this peculiar ability, nanomaterials may be used to broadcast active signals to target molecular sensors or cells. However, along with the excitement that has driven the development of novel nanomaterials, there have been increasing concerns regarding the risks this objects may elicit. Therefore, as these nanostructures are intentionally engineered to target specific cells, it is important to ensure that these enhancements do not trigger adverse effects. In this context, this research project aims to create and characterize safe “nanoshuttles” for delivery of drugs through blood brain barrier (BBB).
The research activities of this platform are:
The development of bioactive platforms that are able to direct and guide cell fate represents a relevant step towards tissue and organ regeneration in vitro and in vivo. One of the greatest obstacles, however, that has hampered the development of such bioactive platforms concerns our limited knowledge on the basic biological principles that govern cell-signal and cell-material interactions. Therefore, an improved understanding on the effects of molecular and physical signals on cell behaviour is of fundamental relevance for developing novel and smart bioactive materials that are able to trigger specific cell functions according to predefined schemes.
The research project aims at defining the most relevant biochemical-biophysical signals for eliciting specific cell activities and developing strategies to encode these signals onto synthetic platforms with a tight control on their spatial arrangement and temporal evolution.
The research activities of this platform are: