A team led by UF Health Cancer Center member Xin Tang, Ph.D., and Juan Guan, Ph.D., at the University of Texas at Austin, has engineered a new class of “smart” biomaterials that switches between liquid and gel states in response to light input.
By incorporating a light-responsive protein element into a structural protein matrix, the biomaterial will have a broad range of applications, including cell encapsulation, controlled release, immunotherapy, cell/tissue mechanobiology and tissue engineering, the researchers said.
The development of the biomaterial was reported in a new study published in Acta Biomaterialia.
Light input can be precisely delivered in space and time, and it is highly tunable through wavelengths, intensities and durations of light exposure. In past research, light-responsive biomaterials were mostly irreversible, limiting their use to one-way applications. Additionally, the materials could not be reused.
By contrast, the new material can switch between liquid and gel using a light-responsive crosslinker. The material is biocompatible, programmable and suitable for application in many types of dynamic biological systems and environments, the researchers said. Reconfigurable biomaterials have a strong potential to be used in personalized cell therapies, customized biomedical devices and eco-friendly and biodegradable materials.
At the UF Health Cancer Center, Tang is a member of the Mechanisms of Oncogenesis research program. He recently won a Rising Star of the Year award in recognition of his innovation, professionalism and leadership. Miao Huang, a graduate student in Tang’s lab, was a co-author on the new study.
The study received funding from the National Institutes of Health, Bristol Myers Squibb, National Science Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, UF Research Opportunity Seed Fund, and a pilot grant from the UF Health Cancer Center, which receives crucial support for its research from the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Act (Fla. Stat. § 381.915).
