Grant: Operating Grant

Artificial implants are now used in a host of applications including hip joints, catheters, heart valves, and dental implants. The shape of the surface at the micometer and nanometer scale, that is its topography, has been found to influence cell and tissue responses to implants but our current knowledge of how cells may be specifically controlled by topography is limited, and compromises our ability to develop improved surfaces. This proposal will study the effects of surface topography on four types of cell that often contact implants: fibroblasts, epithelium, bone cells and macrophages. Using sophisticated methods of microfabrication and nanofabrication, novel and precisely characterized surfaces will be produced and examined for their effects on cell structure, migration, and cell-cell interactions, as well as gene and cell signaling activities. Particular attention will be focused on the macrophage as this cell orchestrates the body's response to foreign bodies such as implants, and the intent is to develop surfaces that induce macrophages to promote healing rather than destructive inflammation. Our past work has been used to modify some types of dental implants. We anticipate the proposed work will lead to the rational, cell behaviourly-based design of specific engineered surfaces that improve implant tissue integration for multiple clinical applications.