Cell-Instructive Materials Research
Hydrogels as Active Materials with Applications in Medicine and Personal Care
A closer look into our research and projects:
We develop cell-instructive soft materials: Our research focuses on multifunctional hybrid hydrogels for medicinal applications such as tissue engineering and drug delivery employing various biomolecules such as proteins, peptides, and DNA. Such soft materials that instruct cellular functions to e.g., restore damaged tissue while allowing minimally invasive application and therapeutic options are in high demand in regenerative medicine. However, current systems can rarely cover all highly attractive material properties required (high definition, biocompatibility, self-healing, degradability, sustainability…). Inspired by the complex interplay of molecules in Nature, we explore the combination of the stability of covalent bonds with the dynamic behavior introduced by supramolecular chemistry and develop cell-instructive materials as active matrices featuring these attractive material properties as well as interactivity, responsiveness, and adaptability.
Here, protein-derived backbones are especially attractive when combined with supramolecular gelators of either DNA or nanofiber-forming peptides: The resulting hydrogels demonstrate impressive material and biological properties like thixotropic behavior and biocompatibility. While DNA programmability achieves controlled delivery of bioactive protein to e.g., control cell population, crosslinking peptide grafts facilitate gel injection to minimize damage to healthy tissue.
Cooperative projects with partners from industry explore the development of hydrogel platforms as novel tissue engineering platforms or as green, nature-based rheology modifiers. Overall, a broad and interdisciplinary approach is pursued (synthesis, material characterization (e.g. rheology, cell studies, biofabrication and 3D printing) within fundamental research and application-oriented projects.
Current projects
Concluded projects