Category Archives: BioEngineering

9 hours ago A new green chemistry technique allows nylon polymers to be efficiently synthesized from bio-based raw materials. Credit: Urs Siedentop/iStock/Thinkstock The environmental impact of synthesizing adipic acid, an important precursor of nylon polymers, can be dramatically reduced by a chemical technique developed by Yugen Zhang and co-workers from the A*STAR Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. The researchers found that an oxygenrhenium catalyst complex transforms bio-based compounds derived from straw waste and other agricultural material into adipic acid with higher yields and lower emissions than conventional processes. Producing bulk chemicals from renewable sources is a key objective for manufacturers seeking to reduce their dependence on petroleum-based raw materials. However, typical compounds produced by biorefining are quite different from current feedstocks. Many are made up of oxygen-rich sugar ringsmixtures that are thermally unstable and difficult to manipulate into new molecules. Finding ways to catalytically remove oxygen atoms from sugars, sugar alcohols and sugar acids is a critical challenge, says Zhang. Recently, chemists have begun using a reaction known as deoxydehydration (DODH) to realize this goal. This technique uses oxygenrhenium catalysts to remove neighboring hydroxyl (OH) groups from a hydrocarbon starting material and convert it into a double-bonded alkenea compound more … Continue reading →

The School of Engineering of EPFL invites applications for a tenure track assistant professor in biomaterials within its Institute of Materials with a possible joint appointment in the Institute of Bioengineering. We seek exceptional individuals who will develop and drive a research program at the forefront of the discipline, who have a strong dedication to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and who will be proactive members of a vibrant Materials community. Top-level applications covering all areas of biomaterials science and engineering are invited including, but not limited to biomolecular, biomimetic, bio-inspired and biomedical materials. Start-up resources and state-of-the-art research infrastructure will be available. Salaries and benefits are internationally competitive. The Institute of Materials at EPFL is well integrated in the School of Engineering and has close interactions with the Institute of Bioengineering. Further exciting opportunities for interactions exist with the Schools of Life Sciences and Basic Sciences, as well as with the newly founded Wyss Center and the University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV). EPFL, with its main campus located in Lausanne, Switzerland, is a dynamically growing and well-funded institution fostering excellence and diversity. It has a highly international campus at an exceptionally attractive location boasting first-class infrastructure. As … Continue reading →

Researchers have successfully transplanted "organoids" of functioning human intestinal tissue grown from pluripotent stem cells in a lab dish into mice -- creating an unprecedented model for studying diseases of the intestine. Reporting their results Oct. 19 online in Nature Medicine, scientists from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center said that, through additional translational research the findings could eventually lead to bioengineering personalized human intestinal tissue to treat gastrointestinal diseases. "These studies support the concept that patient-specific cells can be used to grow intestine," said Michael Helmrath, MD, MS, lead investigator and surgical director of the Intestinal Rehabilitation Program at Cincinnati Children's. "This provides a new way to study the many diseases and conditions that can cause intestinal failure, from genetic disorders appearing at birth to conditions that strike later in life, such as cancer and Crohn's disease. These studies also advance the longer-term goal of growing tissues that can replace damaged human intestine." The scientists used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) -- which can become any tissue type in the body -- to generate the intestinal organoids. The team converted adult cells drawn from skin and blood samples into "blank" iPSCs, then placed the stem cells into a specific molecular … Continue reading →

Rice University bioengineers have found new evidence of a possible link between diabetes and the hardening of heart valves. A Rice lab, in collaboration with the University of Texas (UT) Medical School at Houston, discovered that the interstitial cells that turn raw materials into heart valves need just the right amount of nutrients for proper metabolic function. The surprise was that feeding them too much glucose, a sugar, slowed the cells down. Diabetes is a metabolic disease characterized by high blood-sugar levels over a long period; a 2006 study of atherosclerosis by University of Washington researchers found a correlation between diabetes and aortic-valve calcification. In the new work by the lab of Jane Grande-Allen of Rices bioengineering department, recently ranked No. 5 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, researchers have directly seen the effect of high blood-sugar levels on heart-valve cell metabolism for the first time. The study appears this month in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. The most significant result of the study is that high glucose concentration can actually be detrimental to the aortic-valve cells and their behavior in interacting with the extracellular matrix, said lead author Peter Kamel, who carried out the … Continue reading →

COLUMBIA In a perfect world, there would be no edible food wasted. But in reality, food waste is a constant problem. Edible food waste means misspent resources from the fertilizer used to grow it to the transportation costs. TheU.S. Department of Agriculture estimated 31 percent of retail and consumer-level food in 2010 was wasted. That's 133 billion pounds of uneaten food. Four MU Bioengineering seniors are now being funded by the Environmental Protection Agency to research treatment of organic waste. The students are Jeremy Davis, Austin Davis, Sami Tellatin and Amanda Prescott. The team will receive nearly $15,000 for the study,according to a release. The focus will be on the anaerobic digestionof food waste mixed with pig manure. Anaerobic digestion is a process microorganismsuse to break down organic materials.The team wants to find the optimal mix that is best for treatment. "The stuff we think of as trash can be recoverable energy," said Christine Costello, project manager and anassistant research professor in theMU Department of Bioengineering. The goal is to compareanaerobic digestion with two other options: Landfills with biogas capture and electricity generation and those without. Students will identify the most sustainable option the one that has the most energy … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 15-Oct-2014 Contact: Joe Miksch jmiksch@pitt.edu 412-624-4356 University of Pittsburgh PITTSBURGHUniversity of Pittsburgh researchers recently received another $1.5 million from the National Science Foundation to continue a combined multi-university, private-industry effort to develop implantable medical devices made from biodegradable metals. Body-degradable metalsusually magnesium basedare not new, having been originally considered in the late 19th century. But, says Pitt's William Wagner, deputy director of the project and a principal investigator, "the question comes when you start to design medical devices for a specific application and a clinical partner says, 'We want that to be gone in a month, or a month-and-a-half, or we want that to be there for a year.'" Then you have to figure out how to meet those specifications, he says. To that end, the Pitt team as well as collaborators at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) are creating new alloys and new manufacturing processes that suit clinical demands. The consortium seeks to design devices that can adapt to changes in a patient's body and dissolve once healing has occurred, reducing the follow-up procedures and potential complications of major orthopedic, craniofacial, and cardiovascular procedures and sparing … Continue reading →

Department Overview N107 William H. Foege Building Bioengineering encompasses a wide range of activities in which the disciplines of engineering and biological or medical science intersect. Such multidisciplinary endeavors are yielding new discoveries and major advances that are revolutionizing the healthcare system. The Department of Bioengineering, housed jointly in the School of Medicine and the College of Engineering, provides a comprehensive, multidisciplinary program of education and research and is recognized as a leading bioengineering program in the world. Major areas of research and education include biomaterials and regenerative medicine, molecular and cellular engineering, technology for expanding access to healthcare, instrumentation, imaging and image-guided therapy, and systems, synthetic, and quantitative biology. Adviser N107 William H. Foege Building, Box 355061 (206) 685-2000 bioeng@uw.edu depts.washington.edu/bioe/programs/bachelors/bs.html The Bioengineering Program offers the following programs of study: Suggested First- and Second-Year College Courses: CHEM 142, CHEM 152, and CHEM 162 (or CHEM 144, CHEM 154, and CHEM 164); CSE 142, English composition, MATH 124, MATH 125, MATH 126, PHYS 121. Admission is competitive. Students may be admitted at three different points. Consult the department's website for more information. Nanoscience and Molecular Engineering Option (NME): Admission to the NME option for bioengineering majors is by self-selection and … Continue reading →

Brisbane scientist Professor Mark Kendall and his team invented the Nanopatch. Photo: Jeremy Patten/ University of Queensland It's the Brisbane invention that has the potential to save millions of lives across the globe. But while Professor Mark Kendall of the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology is the public face of the revolutionary Nanopatch, it has taken a vast team of researchers from a range of disciplines to bring the groundbreaking vaccination technology to fruition. Professor Kendall's invention, which has been a decade in development, has been heralded a vaccine utopia. A microscopic view of the nanopatch. Photo: Jeremy Patten/ University of Queensland Nanopatch is a needle-less strip smaller than a postage stamp that has thousands of microscopic points that can inject a vaccine into the skin. Advertisement The technology eliminates the requirement for needles, as well as the need to refrigerate vaccines, which reduces the implementation cost from $50 to just 50 cents. It also requires a much smaller dosage than needle delivery. The Nanopatch has thousands of microscopic points, which can inject disease-breaking vaccines into the skin. Photo: Jeremy Patten/ University of Queensland View post: 11. Professor Mark Kendall: Team Brisbane … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 13-Oct-2014 Contact: Will Hoyles w.hoyles@qmul.ac.uk 44-777-251-2519 Queen Mary, University of London @QMUL Scientists from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and UCL (University College London) have identified what they believe could be a cause of pre-term premature rupture of the fetal membrane (PPROM), which accounts for 40 per cent of pre-term births, and is the main reason for infant death world-wide. The researchers, whose work was funded by the charity Wellbeing of Women, used bioengineering techniques to test the effect of repetitive stretch on tissues of the amniotic membrane which surrounds and protects the baby prior to birth. They found that stretching of the amniotic membrane leads to the overproduction of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) which is damaging to both the cells, and mechanical structure, of the tissue. This overproduction activates the stretch-sensitive protein connexin 43 (Cx43) and reduces the mechanical properties of the membrane, potentially leading to rupture and pre-term birth. The research, published today (Monday) by the journal Placenta, is the first study to investigate the role of Cx43 in causing PPROM. The team are now researching possible treatments that would allow the amniotic membrane to be repaired, through successful funding by the Rosetrees Trust. Co-author … Continue reading →

Fischel Bioengineering Lab UMD The Science Coalition innovations series. By: ES Video Productions LLC. … Continue reading →