Themed collection Biomaterials Science Lectureship Winners

Engineering DNA scaffolds for delivery of anticancer therapeutics
DNA scaffolds with programmability in size, shape and surface chemistry have been engineered for the delivery of various anticancer therapeutics.
Biomater. Sci., 2015,3, 1018-1024
https://doi.org/10.1039/C4BM00459K

Hydrogel scaffolds as in vitro models to study fibroblast activation in wound healing and disease
Hydrogels offer controllable and well-defined in vitro platforms to study the role of the fibroblast in wound healing and fibrosis.
Biomater. Sci., 2014,2, 634-650
https://doi.org/10.1039/C3BM60319A
Recent progress in the development of near-infrared organic photothermal and photodynamic nanotherapeutics
Phototherapies including photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) have gained considerable attention due to their high tumor ablation efficiency, excellent spatial resolution and minimal side effects on normal tissue.
Biomater. Sci., 2018,6, 746-765
https://doi.org/10.1039/C7BM01210A
Hierarchically structured hydrogels utilizing multifunctional assembling peptides for 3D cell culture
Synthetic multifunctional assembling peptides were designed to mimic the structure of collagen and allow independent control of hydrogel mechanical and biochemical properties through covalent crosslinking, enabling long-term in vitro 3D cell culture.
Biomater. Sci., 2020,8, 1256-1269
https://doi.org/10.1039/C9BM01894H
MMP9-sensitive polymers mediate environmentally-responsive bivalirudin release and thrombin inhibition
Enzymatically-responsive bivalirudin polymers loaded in thermoresponsive hydrogels mediate localized therapeutic peptide delivery in spinal cord injuries. These materials respond to upregulated remodelling enzymes to release therapeutic peptide into injured tissue.
Biomater. Sci., 2015,3, 41-45
https://doi.org/10.1039/C4BM00259H
Ciprofloxacin-loaded bioadhesive hydrogels for ocular applications
Micelles loaded in a photocrosslinkable gelatin based hydrogel as a non-invasive suture-free approach for corneal tissue regeneration after injury with infection.
Biomater. Sci., 2020,8, 5196-5209
https://doi.org/10.1039/D0BM00935K
Biomimetic proteoglycan nanoparticles for growth factor immobilization and delivery
Growth factor delivery is often challenging due to their short half-life, low stability, and rapid deactivation. Here, we engineered novel biomimetic proteoglycan nanocarriers for the immobilization and controlled release of growth factors.
Biomater. Sci., 2020,8, 1127-1136
https://doi.org/10.1039/C9BM00668K
Interpenetrating network gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) and pectin-g-PCL hydrogels with tunable properties for tissue engineering
The design of new hydrogel-based biomaterials with tunable physical and biological properties is essential for the advancement of applications related to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Biomater. Sci., 2018,6, 2938-2950
https://doi.org/10.1039/C8BM00474A
Designing well-defined photopolymerized synthetic matrices for three-dimensional culture and differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells
In this work, we establish an approach for the three-dimensional (3D) culture and differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) within well-defined synthetic matrices using light-based chemistries of relevance for the study of both disease and regeneration.
Biomater. Sci., 2018,6, 1358-1370
https://doi.org/10.1039/C8BM00099A
In vitro and in vivo analysis of visible light crosslinkable gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels
Engineering visible light crosslinked GelMA hydrogels with tunable physical properties.
Biomater. Sci., 2017,5, 2093-2105
https://doi.org/10.1039/C7BM00110J
Iodine-131-labeled, transferrin-capped polypyrrole nanoparticles for tumor-targeted synergistic photothermal-radioisotope therapy
Tumor-targeting nanoparticles based on transferrin-capped polypyrrole are fabricated by a one-step approach for combination cancer therapy with a remarkable synergistic therapeutic effect.
Biomater. Sci., 2017,5, 1828-1835
https://doi.org/10.1039/C7BM00409E
Effects of the poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel crosslinking mechanism on protein release
Poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel crosslinking mechanism has a differential effect on controlling protein release.
Biomater. Sci., 2016,4, 405-411
https://doi.org/10.1039/C5BM00256G
Reducible, dibromomaleimide-linked polymers for gene delivery
Reducible, dibromomaleimide-linked polycations exhibit reduced cytotoxicity compared to their non-degradable analogs and can be site-specifically functionalized.
Biomater. Sci., 2015,3, 112-120
https://doi.org/10.1039/C4BM00240G

Design of thiol–ene photoclick hydrogels using facile techniques for cell culture applications
Thiol–ene photoclick hydrogels with tunable biomechanical and biochemical properties for biological applications, including controlled cell culture, regenerative medicine, and drug delivery.
Biomater. Sci., 2014,2, 1612-1626
https://doi.org/10.1039/C4BM00187G
Controllably degradable β-sheet nanofibers and gels from self-assembling depsipeptides
Inserting an ester bond into self-assembling peptides generated controllably degradable nanofibers and hydrogels for 3D cell culture.
Biomater. Sci., 2013,1, 1037-1045
https://doi.org/10.1039/C3BM60161G
Comparative study of guanidine-based and lysine-based brush copolymers for plasmid delivery
Guanidinylated HPMA-co-oligolysine copolymers exhibit higher transfection efficiency to cultured cells than analogous lysine-based polymers for nucleic acid delivery.
Biomater. Sci., 2013,1, 736-744
https://doi.org/10.1039/C3BM60079C
Synthetic hydrogel platform for three-dimensional culture of embryonic stem cell-derived motor neurons
Presented is an engineered PEG hydrogel capable of supporting the viability and subsequent axon extension of encapsulated mouse embryonic stem cell-derived motor neurons in 3D.
Biomater. Sci., 2013,1, 460-469
https://doi.org/10.1039/C3BM00166K