Hemocompatibility of Nitinol Thin Films with TiO surface

该奖项由材料研究部生物材料项目颁发给与加州大学洛杉矶分校医学院合作的工程与应用科学学院的研究人员。该奖项由土木、机械和制造创新部的材料表面工程项目共同资助。这项研究的主要目的是克服当前血管移植材料（如可膨胀聚四氟乙烯支架）遇到的经典生物学问题。该项目的科学目标是对薄膜镍钛诺（TFN）基材料的生物反应有一个基本的了解。TFN包含仿生氧化钛（TiO）表面和智能设计的微孔隙模式。研究人员推测，与现有的移植材料相比，带负电荷的TiO表面可以更好地模拟天然血管系统的电荷结构，从而减少血栓形成，同时促进再内皮化。这种仿生过程通过智能设计的微孔进一步增强，微孔促进装置管腔侧形成的新内膜与底层原生血管之间的直接细胞通信，同时防止新内膜增生。拟议的研究代表了跨学科的合作，解决了覆盖支架和其他血管移植材料的重大局限性。该计划包括教育活动，以激发学生（从K-12到研究生水平）对科学和工程的兴趣。该奖项提供了一种潜在的新材料方法来治疗广泛的血管疾病，包括影响超过1000万美国人的外周动脉疾病。最近，使用可膨胀聚四氟乙烯覆盖支架治疗外周动脉疾病的情况有所增加，但在1年内仍有35%的失败率，这表明这种类型的移植材料有明显的缺点。三个主要的失败机制是移植物血栓形成，边缘狭窄和缺乏再内皮化。为了克服这些问题，本项目的研究将利用仿生学和智能设计来开发一种新的血液相容性材料。该研究项目将为从K-12到研究生水平的广泛代表性不足的学生提供机会。学校鼓励K-12学生每年两次在当地学校的拓展演讲中考虑科学和工程方面的学习。该项目的研究人员将参与加州大学洛杉矶分校工程与多样性卓越中心的项目，提供一个多样化的本科生小组（4-6人），用一个季度的时间进行该项目的研究。此外，该项目将在协作环境中使用同伴指导过程，向本科生传授新的尖端技术，同时鼓励他们考虑研究生学习。

This award from the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research is to investigators in the School of Engineering and Applied Science working with investigators in the School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles. This award is cofunded by the Materials Surface Engineering program in the Division of Civil, Mechanical & Manufacturing Innovation. The major aim of this research is to overcome the classic biological problems encountered with current vascular graft materials such as expandable polytetrafluoroethylene based stents. The scientific goal of this project is in developing a fundamental understanding of the biological responses to thin film Nitinol (TFN) based materials. The TFN contains both a biomimicking Titanium Oxide (TiO) surface and an intelligently designed micro porosity pattern. The investigators hypothesized that a negatively charged TiO surface better mimics the charge structure of the native vascular system as compared to existing graft materials, and thus reducing thrombosis while promoting re-endothelialization. This biomimicking process is further enhanced with intelligently designed micro-pores that promote direct cellular communication between the neointima forming on the lumen side of the device and the underlying native vessel while preventing neointimal hyperplasia. The proposed research represents an interdisciplinary collaboration addressing a significant limitation of covered stents and other vascular graft materials available today. The program includes educational activities to inspire students' (from K-12 to graduate level) interest in science and engineering.This award provides a potential new materials approach to treat a wide range of vascular diseases including peripheral arterial disease, which affects over 10 million Americans. Recently, the use of expandable polytetrafluoroethylene covered stents for treating peripheral arterial disease has increased, but still has a 35% failure rate within 1 year suggesting significant shortcomings with this type of graft material. Three of the primary failure mechanisms are graft thrombosis, edge stenosis and lack of re-endothelialization. To overcome these problems, the researches of this project will use biomimicry and intelligent design to develop a new hemocompatible material. This research project will provide opportunities for a wide range of underrepresented students from K-12 to graduate levels. The K-12 students are encouraged to consider science and engineering studies during outreach presentations at local schools twice a year. The investigators of this project will participate with the Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity program at UCLA to provide a diverse group (4-6) of undergraduate students in conducting research on this project for one quarter. Additionally, this project will use a peer mentoring process in a collaborative environment to educate undergraduates on new cutting-edge technologies while encouraging them to consider graduate studies.