Exploring and Engineering the Cell-Material Interface for Regenerative Medicine.

The goal of regenerating failing organs, before the body as a whole is ready to surrender, is now timelier than ever. Much is known about the cell microenvironment and materials engineering and yet the gap between these disciplines is immense. Here, we will take the approach of exploring the cell-material interface and then engineering it to deliver a new generation of cell-instructive biomaterials. Extracellular influences will be engineered in optimised forms and explored across the length sca les from the cell to the tissue level. First-in-field biomaterials-based innovations will include the development of ion-conducting and electron/hole-conducting functional polymers for cardiac, neural and bone applications, tensile deformation of biological polymers to impart high-strength and biofunctionalisation with designer peptides. Fundamental cell-material interface mechanisms will be explored with state of the art bioengineering and materials science, including the application of live ce ll Raman spectroscopy and intracellular nanoneedles to detect subtle phenotypic changes (cell fingerprint phenotyping and intracellular enzyme activity respectively) in differentiating cells on engineered materials. SAXS-based analysis and spectral histopathology of engineered tissue will yield unprecedented insight into the materials-induced tissue regeneration process at the nanoscale and inform its optimisation.