Frontiers of Adaptive Design, Synthetic Biology and Growing Skins for Ephemeral Hybrid Structures

The history of membranes is one of adaptation, from the development in living organisms to man-made versions, with a great variety of uses in temporary design: clothing, building, packaging, etc. Being versatile and simple to integrate, membranes have a strong sustainability potential, through an essential use of material resources and multifunctional design, representing one of the purest cases where “design follows function.” The introduction of new engineered materials and techniques, combined with a growing interest for Nature-inspired technologies are progressively merging man-made artifacts and biological processes with a high potential for innovation. This chapter introduces, through a number of examples, the broad variety of hybrid membranes in the contest of experimental Design, Art and Architecture, categorized following two different stages of biology-inspired approach with the aim of identifying potential developments. Biomimicry, is founded on the adoption of practices from nature in architecture though imitation: solutions are observed on a morphological, structural or procedural level and copied to design everything from nanoscale materials to building technologies. Synthetic biology relies on hybrid procedures mixing natural and synthetic materials and processes

Selective cell response on natural polymer bio-interfaces textured by femtosecond laser

This study reports on the evaluation of laser processed natural polymer-chitosan, which is under consideration as a biointerface used for temporary applications as skin and cartilage substitutes. It is employed for tissue engineering purposes, since it possesses a significant degree of biocompatibility and biodegradability. Chitosan-based thin films were processed by femtosecond laser radiation to enhance the surface properties of the material. Various geometry patterns were produced on polymer surfaces and employed to examine cellular adhesion and orientation. The topography of the modified zones was observed using scanning electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. Test of the material cytotoxicity was performed by evaluating the life/dead cell correlation. The obtained results showed that texturing with femtosecond laser pulses is appropriate method to initiate a predefined cellular response. Formation of surface modifications in the form of foams with an expansion of the material was created under laser irradiation with a number of applied laser pulses from N = 1-5. It is shown that irradiation with N > 5 results in disturbance of microfoam. Material characterization reveals a decrease in water contact angle values after laser irradiation of chitosan films. Consequently, changes in surface roughness of chitosan thin-film surface result in its functionalization. Cultivation of MC3T3 and ATMSC cells show cell orientational migration concerning different surface patterning. The influence of various pulse durations (varying from tau = 30-500 fs) over biofilms surface was examined regarding the evolution of surface morphology. The goal of this study was to define the optimal laser conditions (laser energy, number of applied pulses, and pulse duration) to alter surface wettability properties and porosity to improve material performance. The acquired set of results indicate the way to tune the surface properties to optimize cell-interface interaction

Frontiers of Adaptive Design, Synthetic Biology and Growing Skins for Ephemeral Hybrid Structures

The history of membranes is one of adaptation, from the development in living organisms to man-made versions, with a great variety of uses in temporary design: clothing, building, packaging, etc. Being versatile and simple to integrate, membranes have a strong sustainability potential, through an essential use of material resources and multifunctional design, representing one of the purest cases where “design follows function.” The introduction of new engineered materials and techniques, combined with a growing interest for Nature-inspired technologies are progressively merging man-made artifacts and biological processes with a high potential for innovation. This chapter introduces, through a number of examples, the broad variety of hybrid membranes in the contest of experimental Design, Art and Architecture, categorized following two different stages of biology-inspired approach with the aim of identifying potential developments. Biomimicry, is founded on the adoption of practices from nature in architecture though imitation: solutions are observed on a morphological, structural or procedural level and copied to design everything from nanoscale materials to building technologies. Synthetic biology relies on hybrid procedures mixing natural and synthetic materials and processes

Nonthermal Plasma Technology as a Versatile Strategy for Polymeric Biomaterials Surface Modification: A Review

In modern technology, there is a constant need to solve very complex problems and to fine-tune existing solutions. This is definitely the case in modern medicine with emerging fields such as regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. The problems, which are studied in these fields, set very high demands on the applied materials. In most cases, it is impossible to find a single material that meets all demands such as biocompatibility, mechanical strength, biodegradability (if required), and promotion of cell-adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. A common strategy to circumvent this problem is the application of composite materials, which combine the properties of the different constituents. Another possible strategy is to selectively modify the surface of a material using different modification techniques. In the past decade, the use of nonthermal plasmas for selective surface modification has been a rapidly growing research field. This will be the highlight of this review. In a first part of this paper, a general introduction in the field of surface engineering will be given. Thereafter, we will focus on plasma-based strategies for surface modification. The purpose of the present review is twofold. First, we wish to provide a tutorial-type review that allows a fast introduction for researchers into the field. Second, we aim to give a comprehensive overview of recent work on surface modification of polymeric biomaterials, with a focus on plasma-based strategies. Some recent trends will be exemplified. On the basis of this literature study, we will conclude with some future trends for research

Microfabrication of 3D Tissue Engineering Scaffolds Using a Low-Cost 3D Printer

Bone tissue engineering has many potential applications including healing bone after trauma, repairing and bone defects associated with cancer. However tissue scaffolds are required to create 3D cultures in vitro. Current scaffold fabrication techniques do not allow for adequate control over the internal pore network. With the advent of rapid prototyping fully customized pore structures are feasible. Here we describe the process for creating a biomorphic bone tissue engineering Poly-lactide scaffold using a low cost 3D extrusion printer. We have developed a scaffold that is built fully using a 3d printer and successfully seeded with mouse osteoblast cells using a collagen hydrogel. We have determined that this scaffold has biomimetic geometry and preserves cellular bio-functionality