Biomaterials Erlangen

The research group Bioactive Materials and Tissue Engineering in the Institute of Biomaterials (Lehrstuhl Biomaterialien) is developing a range of nanostructured biomaterials for medical implants, tissue engineering and drug delivery.

Bioactive materials are of increasing relevance for the development of multifunctional platforms for applications both as traditional implant materials and also for advanced tissue regeneration approaches.

New biomaterials based on bioactive glasses and polymer/nanoparticle composites are being investigated specially, with electric field assisted methods being developed for the fabrication of biomedical nanostructures.

Specific tissues being considered in current research projects are bone, cartilage and cardiac tissue.

In the field of bone tissue engineering, it is of particular interest to control the surface topography and chemistry of 3D tissue engineering scaffolds to enhance both the growth of new bone tissue and vascularisation.

For cardiac tissue engineering, nanostructured polymer biomaterials are being developed for application as cardiac patches with cell delivery and mechanical support functions.

The inclusion of nanoparticles and nanofibres forming composites is being considered to mimic the nanostructure of tissues in the body.

Biomaterials research in our group is being carried in a very interdisciplinary environment and in close collaboration with a number of researchers and academics with expertise in cell biology, biochemistry, biotechnology and medical sciences in Erlangen, Germany and worldwide.