Transformative Medical Materials

Advanced Healthcare Materials, vol. 12, pp. e2301637

Abstract

After decades of research in tissue engineering, electronic implants, and drug delivery systems, the ability to create functional in vitro human tissue models and the full restoration of bodily functions are still challenging, making the cure of many diseases impossible.In this context, a wide variety of materials, cells, and technologies have been designed and produced but only a few have been successfully translated into the clinic.Our hypothesis is that most material systems lack the ability to mimic native tissue structure and function, sufficiently integrate into and interact with the organism, adapt their morphology according to an organ's remodeling and growth, induce sufficient vascular supply, and/or actively respond to a changing environment (e.g., inflammation).Therefore, we believe that the development of transformative medical materials that can be programmed to locally respond to internal and external triggers, present and deliver the right signals in a temporally controlled manner, and monitor and stimulate tissue during growth and recovery could overcome many of these limitations.To bring medical materials into clinical practice, early convergence is required across the whole product chain, from basic science and synthesis to biofabrication, automation and good manufacturing production, leading to pre-clinical and clinical testing.Here, regulatory affairs and ethics need to be considered from the beginning on and computational methods may accelerate and improve development and translation.In current practice, medical materials are often designed based on a one directional influence that material properties have on cells.Now, scientists are of the opinion that these materials should do much more than

Authors 2

1. Laura De Laporte corresponding Aachen Advanced Materials for Biomedicine (AMB) Institute of Applied Medical Engineering (AME) Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry Advanced Materials for Biomedicine (AMB) Institute of Applied Medical Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University · Universitätsklinikum Aachen · DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials

   Affiliation as printed

   Advanced Materials for Biomedicine (AMB) Institute of Applied Medical Engineering (AME) University Hospital RWTH Aachen Center for Biohybrid Medical Systems (CMBS) Forckenbeckstrasse 55 52074 Aachen Germany

   DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials Forckenbeckstrasse 50 52074 Aachen Germany

   Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry (ITMC) RWTH University Aachen Worringerweg 2 52074 Aachen Germany

   Advanced Materials for Biomedicine (AMB), Institute of Applied Medical Engineering (AME), University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Center for Biohybrid Medical Systems (CMBS), Forckenbeckstrasse 55, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry (ITMC), RWTH University Aachen, Worringerweg 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany

2. Fabian M. Kiessling corresponding Aachen Instiute for Experimental Molecular Imaging

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Biohybrid Medical Systems (CMBS) Forckenbeckstrasse 55 52074 Aachen Germany

   Instiute for Experimental Molecular Imaging RWTH University Aachen 52074 Aachen Germany

   Center for Biohybrid Medical Systems (CMBS), Forckenbeckstrasse 55, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Instiute for Experimental Molecular Imaging, RWTH University Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany