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Materials Science and Nanotechnology | Volume: 03
WORLD CONGRESS ON SMART MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES
&
3
rd
International Conference on
POLYMER CHEMISTRY AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING
November 21-22, 2019 | Singapore
Joint event on
F
or a number of biomedical applications, including cell
therapy and tissue engineering, there is an increasing
need to engineer advanced three-dimensional (3D)
scaffolds to provide a structural and mechanical support
for cells and guide tissue regeneration. Engineering
injectable biomaterials have become a promising approach
for scaffold implantation into the body while avoiding open
surgery and post-surgery complications. To that end, we
have recently unveiled a breakthrough technology for the
delivery via conventional needle–syringe injection of large
preformed macroporous hydrogels called cryogels with
well-defined properties.
Our 2012 publication (Bencherif et al. PNAS) disclosing the
first cryogel scaffold to be injected through a conventional
small-bore needle while recapitulating aspects of the
native cell niche has sparked massive interest in the field.
These injectable cryogels in the form of elastic sponge-
like matrices are prepared by environmentally friendly
cryotropic gelation of water soluble polymers giving rise
to 3D scaffolds with unique properties, including shape-
memory properties and complete geometric restoration
once delivered in the body. Cryogels displaying an
interconnected macro porous structure can be molded
to a variety of shapes and sizes, and may be optionally
loaded with therapeutic agents or cells. These cryogels
with unique features have created a new class of
injectable materials applicable for a number of biomedical
applications including tissue engineering, drug delivery,
cell transplantation, cosmetics, and more recently cancer
immunotherapy.
Biography
Sidi A Bencherif is the Director of the Laboratory for Advanced and
Multifunctional Polymeric Biomaterials and an Assistant Professor in the
Department of Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University. He is
also appointed as an Associate at Harvard University. In 2009, he received
a PhD in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University. Following his PhD,
he was initially appointed as a postdoctoral researcher and then later as
a researcher associate at Harvard University and the Wyss Institute for
Biologically Inspired Engineering. He has authored and coauthored in top
journals (Science, PNAS, Nature Materials, Nature Communications, etc.),
international conference proceedings, reviews and patent applications,
and he is the recipient of several fellowships, honors and awards, including
the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award. He has over
50 publications that have been cited over 4000 times, and his H-index is 24
and has been serving as an editorial board member of reputed Journals.
e:
s.bencherif@northeastern.eduSidi A Bencherif
Northeastern University, USA
Engineering injectable polymeric cryogels for biomedical
applications
Mater Sci Nanotechnol, Volume: 03