GOALI/Collaborative Research: Design and Manufacturing of Bioactive Surgical Fixation Devices Using Injection Molding of Gradient Cellular Structures

GOALI合作研究项目的研究目标是研究新型外科固定设备(螺丝、锚、板、钉、钉等)。这不仅确保了移植物的就位，还融合了生物活性材料，如生长因子、药物和细胞，旨在促进骨组织生长。新的装置可以消除痛苦的二次手术，永久植入物的不良影响，以及现有手术固定装置缺乏生物活性特征。这项研究解决了外科固定装置中生物相容性、生物降解性和生物活性材料方面的挑战，并探索了一种通过手术装置输送生物试剂的新方法。方法是：1.确定合适的结构和生物活性材料，以获得坚固的固定装置本体和高效的骨组织愈合和生长。2.设计一种具有机械完整性和生物活性的新型生物活性干涉螺杆，作为具体的实例和应用。3.探索一种新的技术，即梯度细胞结构(GCS)，以创建相互连接的多孔结构来控制螺钉的机械强度，并辅助生物活性材料的输送。4.通过测试发现、控制、优化和集成所有所需的功能，如机械完整性、材料降解率和生物活性试剂投递率。如果成功，这项研究的好处和更广泛的影响将是：用主动装置取代现有的被动矫形手术装置，即手术装置不仅具有固定和支撑目的，还具有治疗、愈合和促进组织的生物学功能；将与Artrex，Inc.建立长期的研究和教育关系，用于新技术的开发和转移；将培训三名博士生和两个高级设计团队；将创建三个基于项目的学习单元，以加强本科机械和生物医学工程课程，让学生参与生物活性固定装置和生物试剂输送的设计项目。这项研究的新发现将在专业期刊和会议上传播。该项目还将用于为当地高中和社区大学学生特别设计的外联研讨会，其中包括许多代表不足的少数族裔学生，以展示高科技机械和聚合物工程在生物技术中的应用。

The research objective of this Grant Opportunity for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) Collaborative Research project is to investigate novel surgical fixation devices (screw, anchor, plate, pin, staple, etc.) that not only secure a graft in place, but incorporate bioactive materials such as growth factors, drugs, and cells, intended to promote bone tissue growth. The new devices can eliminate painful secondary operations, adverse effects of permanent implants, and the lack of bioactive features in existing surgical fixation devices. The research addresses challenges in biocompatible, biodegradable and bioactive materials for surgical fixation devices and investigates a new delivery method for bio-reagents through the surgical devices. The approach will be: 1. Identify suitable structural and bioactive materials for a strong fixation device body and efficient bone-tissue healing and growth. 2. Design a new bioactive interference screw, as a specific example and application with required mechanical integrity and bioactivity. 3. Explore a new technique, gradient cellular structure (GCS), to create interconnective porous structure to control screw mechanical strength and assist in bioactive materials delivery. 4. Through testing to find, control, optimize and integrate all required functionalities such as mechanical integrity, material degradation rate, and bioactive reagents delivery rate.If successful, the benefits and broader impacts of this research will be: to replace current passive orthopedic surgery devices with active devices, i.e. the surgical devices not only serve fixation and support purposes but also have curing, healing and tissue-promoting biological functions; a long term research and educational relationship with Arthrex, Inc. will be built for the new technology development and transfer; three doctoral students and two senior design teams will be trained; three project-based learning modules will be created to strengthen the undergraduate mechanical and biomedical engineering curricula, engaging students with design projects in bioactive fixation devices and bio-reagents delivery. New findings from the research will be disseminated in professional journals and at conferences. The project will also be used in specially designed outreach workshops for local high school and community college students, including many underrepresented minority students to showcase high-tech mechanical and polymer engineering applications in biotechnology.