Biological and Bio-Inspired Materials and Devices

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this symposium is to bring together scientists from many different disciplines (materials scientists, chemists, biologists, physicists, bioengineers, and clinicians) to present their work in the area of biological, bio-inspired materials and devices. The presence of these leaders in the field at this forum provides an important opportunity for interaction in a multidisciplinary environment. This symposium thus represents the intersection of materials research with biology, medicine, pharmaceuticals, chemistry, and engineering. These efforts are directed toward application of our developing understanding of biological systems to processing and materials design for use in biomedical engineering and bionanotechnology. This therefore represents an important forum for the international community to discuss recent research and development activities in the areas of biomaterials, biodetection, and bionanoscience. As in previous years, this symposium will place special emphasis on the innovative approaches to biomedical engineering, and we anticipate that strong and lively interactions will lead to the discussion of new ideas, opportunities and future challenges in this highly inter-disciplinary research area. The symposium has a strong component stressing the fundamental understanding of how biomolecules behave. In addition, understanding the interface between mineral structure and biology, at the nanometer scale, plays a critical role for the future of bioengineering/biotechnology from which fields such as dental research, bone and tissue engineering will directly benefit. Understanding cellular response to surface morphology of materials and the control over mineralization of bones and teeth are important aspects of future bioengineering efforts. The combination of biological molecules with inorganic precursors, as is found in the ultrastructure of bone, can be mimicked in efforts to produce new biocompatible and mechanically strong composites. The medical community is interested in this topic because a more complete understanding of the mechanisms underlying biomineralization will play a big role in developing new materials for orthopaedics, prosthodontics, and dentistry.