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

这项学术与行业合作研究项目的研究目标是研究新型手术固定装置（螺钉、锚钉、钢板、销钉、钉钉等），这些装置不仅可以固定移植物，还可以结合生长因子、药物和细胞等生物活性材料，促进骨组织生长。新装置可以消除痛苦的二次手术，永久性植入物的不良影响，以及现有手术固定装置缺乏生物活性的特点。本研究解决了手术固定装置中生物相容性、生物可降解和生物活性材料的挑战，并探索了一种新的生物试剂通过手术装置的递送方法。方法将是：1。确定合适的结构和生物活性材料，以实现强大的固定装置体和有效的骨组织愈合和生长。2. 设计一种新型的生物活性干扰螺钉，作为具体的实例和应用，具有要求的机械完整性和生物活性。3. 探索一种新的技术，梯度细胞结构（GCS），创造相互连接的多孔结构，以控制螺钉的机械强度和辅助生物活性物质的输送。4. 通过测试发现、控制、优化和整合所有所需的功能，如机械完整性、材料降解率和生物活性试剂输送率。如果成功，本研究的好处和更广泛的影响将是：用主动装置取代目前的被动骨科手术装置，即手术装置不仅具有固定和支撑目的，而且具有固化，愈合和促进组织的生物学功能；将与Arthrex， Inc.建立长期的研究和教育关系，以开发和转让新技术；培养博士生3名，高级设计团队2支；为了加强本科机械和生物医学工程课程，将创建三个基于项目的学习模块，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发表。该项目还将用于为当地高中和社区大学学生（包括许多代表性不足的少数民族学生）特别设计的外展讲习班，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.