Overview

The promise of tissue engineering will stretch the limits of our imagination.

Imagine a runner who could participate in a marathon less than a year after a heart attack. Imagine diabetes sufferers everywhere throwing away their daily insulin shots. Imagine people once dependent upon canes walking with confidence, unassisted and pain-free, through their daily lives.

Biotechnology in general, and stem cell research in particular, has made great strides in spurring the growth (and re-growth) of specific human cell types. But cells alone cannot replace human tissue. They need a substrate upon which to grow, thrive and take on useful forms.

To guide cellular growth or to deliver life-saving drugs requires the construction of cell-scale scaffolding not unlike building-scale scaffolds used in construction projects. Viable scaffolds allow mass transport of oxygen and nutrients and direct the growth of cells migrating from nearby tissue — to close the gap between the torn end of a ruptured ligament, for example — or to provide a foothold for new tissue growth — such as replacing destroyed nerves, fractured bones, damaged blood vessels or part of a diseased kidney.

By stepping in at the intersection of biotechnology and nanotechnology, we hope to develop and mass-produce scaffolds that can guide and support the growth of new cells to form specific tissues that can be created in a lab (in vitro) or even inside a patient’s body (in vivo) to replace injured, missing, or malformed tissue.

Built atop a strong Wisconsin plastics industry and active foundational research at UW-Madison aimed at advancing stem cell use, regenerative medicine, nanotechnology and polymer engineering, the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery’s Polymer Bio-Nanocomposite Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering (or BIONATES) research theme was assembled to quite literally lay the foundation for transformative technology that would allow patients to replace their own damaged tissue and bounce back with remarkable speed and minimal complications from debilitating diseases and injuries.

Our plan is to advance the science and engineering of manufacturing scaffolds with the aid of nanotechnology and using a wide range of materials (composites, polymers, metals, ceramics or organic materials), giving growing cells a place to adhere while dividing, communicating, taking in nutrients and disposing of waste. Creating viable tissues may also require the scaffolds to biodegrade in a predictable and controllable manner (once the new tissue has coalesced and become self-supporting) or to stimulate growing tissue through drug delivery or minute electric pulses.

Led by Lih-Sheng “Tom” Turng, a professor in mechanical engineering at UW-Madison, the BIONATES team will build a library of scaffolding materials and cost-effective, mass-production methods that will work for a wide range of cell types in an array of in-body applications.

Through collaboration with researchers around UW-Madison and beyond, we strive to propel the discoveries and realization of new biomedical treatments and technological applications to enhance overall human health and welfare.