Explore more about: Biomaterials

Fluorescent “dots” – that is, tiny particles that can emit light – have a multitude of promising biomedical applications, yet making such dots is usually a long and tedious process that uses harsh chemicals. Now, NIBIB-funded researchers are developing a fluorescent dot that is not only easier to make, but uses environmentally friendly materials.

The gut microbiome can impact us in a variety of different ways, from our metabolism to our mood. Now, NIBIB-funded researchers are investigating if a fiber-based gel can restore beneficial microbes in the gut to enhance the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors, a type of cancer immunotherapy treatment.

Bioengineers have developed biocompatible self-assembling “piezoelectric wafers,” which can be made rapidly and inexpensively to enable broad use of implantable muscle-powered electromechanical therapies.

The new technique is capable of printing the models 10-50 times faster than the industry standard—in minutes instead of hours— a major step in the quest to create 3D-printed replacement organs.

Researchers have generated synthetic mucins with a polymer backbone that more accurately mimics the structure and function of naturally occurring mucins. They also showed that these synthetic mucins could effectively neutralize the bacterial toxin that causes cholera.

Every year thousands of Americans, mostly over age 75, require replacement of their aortic valve. Now 3D printed patient-specific models of the aorta can aid presurgical planning and improve outcomes of minimally invasive valve replacement.

Researchers have developed a groundbreaking process for multi-material 3D printing of lifelike models of the heart's aortic valve and the surrounding structures that mimic the exact look and feel of a real patient.

Using DNA origami as a virus-like scaffold, researchers designed an HIV-like particle that provokes a strong response from human immune cells grown in the lab. They are now testing this approach as a potential vaccine candidate in live animals, and adapting it to SARS-CoV-2, as well as other pathogens.

Scientists were able to show that bioengineered uteri in an animal model developed the native tissue-like structures needed to support normal reproductive function.

A new technique funded by NIBIB and developed by University of Minnesota researchers allows 3D printing of hydrogel-based sensors directly on the surface of organs, such as lungs—even as they expand and contract. The technology was developed to support robot-assisted medical treatments.