Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

The nature of the work to be done: Cardiovascular disease such as coronary artery occlusion is one of the leading causes of death in Canada. For patients with severe coronary artery blockage, catheter-based interventions such as coronary angioplasty and stenting are frequently utilized. However, angioplasty and stenting are limited by the undesired and uncontrolled proliferation of smooth muscle cells that eventually reocclude the artery. Through the ongoing NSERC DG and DAS funding, the research program will focus on developing novel enabling technologies to address the challenges associated with stenting by functional conjugation of Jagged1 Notch ligand to stents with the aim of improving vascular reparative outcome. This RTI funding request is to purchase a critically needed magnetic tweezer force spectroscopy for the research program.******Why and to whom the research is important and the anticipated outcomes: The proposed research is important because it brings together biomaterials and biology to heart disease. The proposed research will provide fundamental understandings about one of the unsolved challenges in stent performance. The applicant anticipates to develop stents with conjugated Jagged1 that arrests the undesired smooth muscle cell proliferation that leads to reocclusion. In the process, gaining fundamental materials-induced cell biology knowledge is also anticipated. ******The benefits to the research field and to Canada: The proposed research utilizes one type of biomaterials (stents) to present Jagged1 to cells. The proposed research will result in significant technology development for applications in future human health and economic benefit to Canada by opening up new markets in the medical stent and biomaterials-based therapeutic technology sector.**