Engineering the bio-interface for the next generation of biomedical devices

生物界面是材料与生物相遇的地方。生物界面科学旨在了解和控制生物实体在表面的行为。调节这种行为最可靠的方法之一是通过控制界面(生物)化学和物理属性，这种方法以下称为生物界面工程。*生物医学研究为设计生物界面提供了强大的动力；如果许多生物医学设备的表面经过设计，允许与血液等复杂生物流体更积极地相互作用，最终提高我们的生活质量，降低与医疗保健相关的成本，并拯救生命，则许多生物医学设备的性能将得到极大改善。生物医学设备表面工程的现状是使其无毒(被错误地命名为“生物相容”)，在某些情况下是被动的(即，盲目排斥所有生物分子)。然而，真正的生物相容表面是一种表面，它可以在所需的应用位置与复杂的生物景观有益地共存，积极地突出积极的相互作用，减少不需要的相互作用。*我的研究计划专注于具有多模式功能的工程化生物界面的设计和开发，重点是将它们集成到生物医学设备中。具体地说，我建议解决设计有效的生物界面的主要挑战之一，即最大限度地减少非特定的相互作用，同时保留和增强界面所需的生物功能。为了实现这一目标，提出的方法是设计生物功能全恐惧界面。拟议研究的新颖之处在于将生物功能，即与目标生物分子的特定相互作用，与基于润滑剂的全疏水(超疏水和光滑)表面相结合，这些表面已被证明在避免非特异性附着和随之而来的一系列并发症方面非常有效，最显著的是形成血栓。*拟议的研究目标将分三步实现：(I)旨在开发生产生物功能全疏水表面的工艺并研究其功能和与生物物种的相互作用的基础综合研究，然后利用已开发的知识设计：(Ii)体外装置，用于清除血液中的生物目标，而不需要抗凝剂，以及(Iii)有助于术后愈合的机械心脏瓣膜。*这项研究计划被设想为朝着建立一个领先的世界级研究平台迈出的第一步，该平台专注于发展对支配生物界面相互作用的现象的基本理解，目的是将这些知识转化为具有现实影响的应用程序，以应对人类健康方面的全球挑战。

The biointerface is where material meets biology. Biointerface science aims to understand and control the behaviour of biological entities on surfaces. One of the most sure-fire ways to modulate this behaviour is by controlling the interfacial (bio)chemical and physical properties, an approach hereafter referred to as engineering the biointerface. ***Biomedical research provides a strong motivation for engineering the biointerface; the performance of many biomedical devices could be vastly improved if their surfaces were engineered to allow for a more active interaction with complex biological fluids such as blood, ultimately improving our quality of life, decreasing healthcare-associated costs, and saving lives. The status quo in surface engineering of biomedical devices is to render them non-toxic (erroneously named “biocompatible”) and, in some cases, passive (i.e., blindly repellent of all biomolecules). A truly biocompatible surface, however, is a surface that can beneficially co-exist with the complex biological landscape at the desired site of application, actively highlighting positive interactions and diminishing undesired interactions.***My research program focuses on the design and development of engineered biointerfaces with multimodal functionality, emphasizing on their integration into biomedical devices. Specifically, I propose to tackle one of the main challenges in designing effective biointerfaces, namely minimizing non-specific interactions while retaining and enhancing the desired bio-functionality of the interface. The proposed approach for realizing this objective is to design bio-functional omniphobic interfaces. The novelty of the proposed research lies in integrating bio-functionality, i.e., specific interaction with target biomolecules, with lubricant-based, omniphobic (super hydrophobic and slippery) surfaces that have proven highly effective at avoiding non-specific attachment and the cascade of complications that follow, the most notable being formation of blood clots.***The proposed research objective will be realized in three steps: (i) a fundamental comprehensive study aimed at developing the processes for producing bio-functional omniphobic surfaces and investigating their function and interaction with bio-species, followed by utilizing the developed knowledge for designing: (ii) extracorporeal devices for cleansing biological targets from blood without the need for anticoagulants, and (iii) mechanical heart valves that aid post-operation healing. ***This research program is envisioned as the first step towards establishing a leading world-class research platform focused on developing a fundamental understanding of the phenomena that govern the interactions at the biointerface, with the aim of translating this knowledge to applications with real-life impact addressing global challenges in human health.