Surface nanoengineering of metallic surfaces for biomedical applications

我的研究项目的直接目标是结合材料科学和纳米技术来推进目前的可植入金属，特别是钛，医学的黄金标准。我建议首先应用一种简单而强大的电化学技术（即阳极氧化）来生成三维纳米管表面，能够充当原位药物输送平台。随后，为了增加另一层协同控制，将表面涂上生物相容性水凝胶，当局部pH值从生理值(7)下降到更酸的值（4-6）时，水凝胶能够溶解。pH值的下降可能与细菌感染、炎症和骨重塑有关。这种方法旨在创造新一代具有“智能”表面的植入式金属，能够感知周围生物环境的生理变化，并通过释放生物活性剂（如抗生素）做出相应的反应。最终，拟议的研究计划有望在材料和表面科学以及表征技术方面产生新的知识，最终允许培养结合不同学科的研究生。这些受训者将极有资格从事对加拿大具有战略意义的跨学科研究，例如生物医学工程。

The immediate objective of my research program is conjugating materials science and nanotechnology to advance current implantable metals, in particular titanium, the gold standard in medicine. I propose to first apply a simple yet powerful electrochemical technique (i.e. anodization) to generate 3-dimensional nanotubular surfaces capable to act like in-situ drug-delivery platforms. Successively, in order to add another level of synergistic control, surfaces will be coated with a biocompatible hydrogel capable of dissolving if the local pH decreases from physiological values (7) to more acid ones (4-6). A decrease in the pH can be related to bacterial infection, inflammation and bone remodelling. This approach aims at creating a new generation of implantable metals with 'smart' surfaces capable of sensing physiological changes in the surrounding biological environment and responding accordingly by releasing bioactive agents, such as antibiotics. Ultimately, the proposed research program is expected to generate new knowledge in materials and surface science, as well as in characterization techniques, ultimately permitting to train graduate students who conjugate various disciplines. These trainees will be extremely well-qualified for interdisciplinary research in areas of strategic importance to Canada, such as biomedical engineering.