3D Nanomaterial Architectures for Tissue Scaffold Applications.

该项目将开发用于癌细胞体外培养的泡沫和纤维复合材料纳米材料的3D支架，具有高度控制的表面化学，形态和机械性能。目的是利用这些支架来解决癌细胞与微环境相互作用的不同方面以及治疗和逃避治疗的机制。此外，我们将使用我们的纳米材料来诱导和检查癌症干细胞分化。越来越清楚的是，癌症微环境的作用，特别是结构和形态，对包括侵袭和转移在内的不同癌症特征至关重要。纳米材料（尤其是新层状材料家族）提供了一个独特的机会来简化参数空间，结构类似物允许物理地形与化学完全分离，并且能够通过功能化控制呈现的表面化学

This project will develop 3D scaffolds of nanomaterials in foams and fibrous composites for in vitro culture of cancer cells, with highly controlled surface chemistry, morphology and mechanical properties. The aim is to use these scaffolds to address the different aspects of cancer cells' interactions with the microenvironment as well as mechanisms of treatment and treatment evasion. In addition, we will use our nanomaterials to induce and examine cancer stem cell differentiation.It is becoming increasingly clear that the role of the cancer microenvironment, the structure and morphology in particular, is of extreme importance for different cancer hallmarks including invasion and metastasis.Nanomaterials (especially the family of new layered materials) provide a unique opportunity to simplify the parameter space, with structural analogues allowing for the complete separation of physical topography from chemistry, and the ability to control the presented surface chemistry with functionalisation