Superhydrophobic and icephobic materials for biomedical engineering applications

该联盟国际催化剂资助申请概述了我们的计划，即采用西蒙弗雷泽大学（SFU）最近开发的超疏水和疏冰材料，用于国立台湾大学（NTU）探索的先进生物医学工程应用。特别是，我们的目标是优化低温微针的制造，用于通过皮肤穿透的药物输送和细胞移植。冷冻微针是最近开发的新一代微针技术，允许以微创方式皮内递送活细胞或药物。要解决的问题是如何避免从专门设计和制造的聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）微模具中拆卸冷冻微针时的损坏。在过去的十年中，我们在通过非常规硅烷化反应制造超疏水材料/基底方面做出了重大贡献，用于制造更有效的微流体生物芯片和其他工业应用。 该计划的主要目标是将超疏水和疏冰材料引入到低温微针成型工艺中，以帮助微针形成和卸载，在用于制造低温微针之前设计微模具的表面组成和纳米级结构。从更广泛的角度来看，该项目接口在SFU先进材料研究（化学系和4D实验室）和生物医学工程研究（生物医学工程学院）;这种跨学科合作的建立不仅为新材料和设备的生物医学应用开辟了新的途径，而且为来自不同文化，学科，和教育地位，以获得经验和技能，为他们未来的职业生涯在全国范围内的医疗保健和医疗环境。

This Alliance International Catalyst grant application outlines our initiative to employ the superhydrophobic and icephobic materials developed lately at Simon Fraser University (SFU) for advanced biomedical engineering applications explored at National Taiwan University (NTU). Particularly, we are aiming at optimized manufacture of cryomicroneedles for drug delivery and cell transplantation through skin penetration. Cryomicroneedle is a new generation of microneedle technology developed recently that allows the intradermal delivery of living cells or drugs in a minimally invasive manner. The problem to be solved is to avoid the damage when detaching the cryomicroneedles from the specially designed and fabricated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micromolds. In the past decade, we have made significant contributions in creating superhydrophobic materials/substrates via unconventional silanization reactions for the fabrication of more efficient microfluidic biochips and other industrial applications. The main objective of this initiative is to introduce superhydrophobic and icephobic materials to the cryomicroneedle molding process to help the microneedle formation and unloading, to engineer the surface composition and nanoscale structure of the micromolds prior to their use in making cryomicroneedles. From a broader viewpoint, this project interfaces advanced materials research at SFU (Chemistry Department and 4D Labs) and biomedical engineering studies at NTU (College of Biomedical Engineering); the establishment of such an interdisciplinary collaboration not only leads to new avenues to shape the biomedical applications of new materials and devices, but also offer unique opportunities for trainees from varied culture, discipline, and education status to gain experience and skills for their future careers in health care and medical settings nationwide.