Main activities

  • the determination of the resistance / damage limits and the evaluation of the limit for operating conditions;
  • the evaluation of the variability of the mechanical and electrical properties in selected populations;
  • the definition of constitutive laws for calculation models;
  • the study of the behavior of shape memory biomaterials;
  • mechanical and electronical characterization of biomaterials and biomedical devices in non-conventional tests, developed to meet the specific characteristics of the material / object (eg: high compliances, small sample size, specific response to mechanical and electrical stimuli);
  • testing for scaffolds obtained using different technologies and different additive materials for the detection of the optimum process parameters to the obtaining of a device suitable for the cell growth and to its applicability;
  • functional characterization of the interaction between cell and scaffold for growth and differentiation;
  • assessment of tissue function in vitro generated by morphological, transcriptomical and proteomical analysis.

Areas of Application

The areas of application, that this laboratory would include, are based on a strong interdisciplinary collaboration between the medical and the engineering field.

The ultimate goal of all the proposed applications will be to optimize and make the engineered constructs, tissue-engineered products, functional tools for clinical development. The integration between the various skills would make possible to produce autologous tissue substitutes that mimic the physiological tissues, thus making their use possible both in the surgical replacement, and as a test bed for innovative drug therapies (replacing the models animals), both as models to study the etiology of specific diseases.

Areas of Interest

The areas that could potentially be interested and involved, and the lines of research associates are related to:

  • Design and construction of new equipment

Design, drawing, kinematic and dynamic modeling, realization, sensing and control of machines or laboratory equipment (eg. Bioreactors, of additive manufacturing machines operating on a production cell systems, etc.).

  • Design and testing of innovative biomedical devices

Design, simulation, production and testing of implants and biomedical devices (eg. Percutaneous devices, stents, balloon angioplasty, implants

  • Materials

Biomechanical interactions between bioelectric and biological cells and scaffold can have a significant influence on the long-term success of engineered tissues. The ideal scaffold must be developed using biocompatible materials with appropriate surface properties which promote cell growth and differentiation without causing inflammatory reactions in the host following implantation. Biomaterials can be classified as natural or synthetic. The first group includes proteins and polysaccharides (collagen, fibrin, alginate, hyaluronic acid, etc.), while the second is constituted by metallic, ceramic or polymer, such as polyglycolic acid and polylactic acid, each of which offers advantages and disadvantages in terms of resistance and immunogenicity.

  • Medicine

The field of biology is what is involved transversely, but specific branches of medicine are affected by application to be developed. it is now clear (Cukierman et al, 2001, 2002;. Edelman and Keefer, 2005) that cell biology is greatly influenced by complexity and architecture of the micro-3D environment, which is made up of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and different cell types arranged in correlation to their specific function in the tissue.

  • Business and Industrial

The skills of the laboratory affect both hospitals and industrial companies. The first are involved in patient care, while the latter from the production point of view of machines, equipment and devices. The pharmaceutical industry is also a natural partner for the development and testing of new molecules.