We study and orchestrate how synthetic materials interact with living cells. We engineer cell-instructive environments and material-based solutions for zero-waste therapeutic solutions.
Our group develops hydrogel materials with programmed and tunable properties designed to encapsulate and instruct living cells. We study how living cells and inert matter interact and how these interactions can be exploited to direct cellular functions and ultimately result in therapeutic advantages. We cooperate with synthetic biologists, biophysicists, drug developers and clinicians to explore the application potential of our developments, with a focus on new materials for ophthalmic drug delivery. We contribute to INM’s competence fields opto-interactive and bio-intelligent materials. Our research addresses biomedical needs.
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Team Members
Research
Hydrogels with latent properties
By integrating phototriggers and light-responsive molecular motors in polymeric networks, we develop 4D hydrogels with optoregulated (bio)chemical activity, crosslinking, degradation, or mechanoactuation. These are used for biophysical studies of cell response to changes in the biochemical and mechanical signals of the extracellular environment.
Model Cellular Microenvironments
We build synthetic models of cell-matrix and cell-cell interfaces with encoded biochemical, mechanical and dimensional signals. To accelerate discovery, we develop material microarrays for high-throughput biophysical experimentation and apply them to study multifactorial cell responses.
Living Therapeutic Devices
We develop bioinks and apply biofabrication technologies for functional and safe encapsulation of cells in medical devices. We focus on self-replenishable living therapeutic materials which integrate drug biofactories and have unlimited therapeutic release. We aim for innovation in ocular therapeutics with living, self-replenishable drug-eluting contact lenses.
Partner
Selected Publications
Yang, Juan | Włodarczyk-Biegun, Małgorzata K. | Filippov, Alexei | Akerboom, Sabine | Dompé, Marco | van Hees, Ilse A. | Mocan, Merve | Kamperman, Marleen
Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics , 2018, 219 (16), 1800051.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/macp.201800051
Zhao, Shifang | Fan, Wenqiang | Guo, Xiang | Xue, Longjian | Berninger, Benedikt | Salierno, Marcelo J. | del Campo, Aránzazu
Biomaterials , 2018, 156 238-247.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142961217307743
Zheng, Yijun | Farrukh, Aleeza | del Campo, Aránzazu
Langmuir , 2018, 34 (48), 14459-14471.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b02634
Farrukh, Aleeza | Ortega, Felipe | Fan, Wenqiang | Marichal, Nicolás | Paez, Julieta I. | Berninger, Benedikt | del Campo, Aranzazu | Salierno, Marcelo J.
Stem Cell Reports , 2017, 9 (5), 1432-1440.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213671117303855
Farrukh, Aleeza | Paez, Julieta I. | Salierno, Marcelo | Fan, Wenqiang | Berninger, Benedikt | del Campo, Aránzazu
Biomacromolecules , 2017, 18 (3), 906-913.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.6b01784
Feng, Jun | Ton, Xuan-Anh | Zhao, Shifang | Paez, Julieta | del Campo, Aránzazu
Biomimetics , 2017, 2 (4), 23.
http://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/2/4/23
Iacomino, Mariagrazia | Paez, Julieta I. | Avolio, Roberto | Carpentieri, Andrea | Panzella, Lucia | Falco, Geppino | Pizzo, Elio | Errico, Maria E. | Napolitano, Alessandra | del Campo, Aranzazu | d’Ischia, Marco
Langmuir , 2017, 33 (9), 2096-2102.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b04079
Sankaran, Shrikrishnan | Cavatorta, Emanuela | Huskens, Jurriaan | Jonkheijm, Pascal
Langmuir , 2017, 33 (35), 8813-8820.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b00702
Sankaran, Shrikrishnan | Jaatinen, Leena | Brinkmann, Jenny | Zambelli, Tomaso | Vörös, Janos | Jonkheijm, Pascal
ACS Nano , 2017, 11 (4), 3867-3874.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.7b00161
Włodarczyk-Biegun, Małgorzata K. | del Campo, Aránzazu
Biomaterials , 2017, 134 180-201.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142961217302478