Webinar | Directed Assembly of Biomaterials using Interfacial Phenomena, by John P. Frampton, PhD

Thursday, June 24, 2021 3:30 pm - 3:30 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

The Department of Chemical Engineering is pleased to welcome Professor John Frampton, the Tier II Canada Research Chair in Cell, Biomaterial and Matrix Interaction in the School of Biomedical Engineering at Dalhousie University, to our seminar series. He will discuss polymer-based technologies that harness the physical and chemical properties of interfaces to direct the assembly of biomolecules and cells, with an emphasis on liquid-liquid and air-liquid interfaces.

All graduate Chemical Engineering students will receive an Outlook calendar event with webinar access details.

Everyone is welcome – If you are not a graduate Chemical Engineering student, contact the Manager of Graduate Studies for the access information you need to join the webinar.  

Abstract

Biomaterial engineering has traditionally relied on one of two approaches for generating order, and from that order arises the function of the material or the device.

The first general approach, the bottom-up approach, involves arranging smaller components into larger, more complex ensembles. While this approach provides high precision assembly of ultrafine structures, it is limited in its ability to generate long range order and produce macroscopic structures in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner.

Top-down fabrication, on the other hand, can produce features over much larger length scales by cutting, etching, or molding materials into the desired configurations. Top-down approaches can also produce ultrafine structures, but are often limited by cost and efficiency, because larger machines with higher tolerances are required to fabricate fine features over large size scales.

Thus, for efficient biomaterial assembly that includes micro/nano features over macroscopic scales, it is necessary to introduce a third strategy, which can be considered a bottom-up approach but offers the ability to efficiently impart fine features over macroscopic size domains. This approach is self-assembly.

This talk will focus on polymer-based technologies that harness the physical and chemical properties of interfaces to direct the assembly of biomolecules and cells, with an emphasis on liquid-liquid and air-liquid interfaces. The first part of the talk will describe how aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) comprised of phase-separating polymer solutions enable precise deposition and patterning of biomolecules and cells with relevance to bioprinting and assembly of living tissue models. The second part of the talk will describe how air-liquid interfacial properties lead to the formation of liquid bridges from viscous polymer solution that can be stabilized to form dry fibers for the development of high tensile strength materials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Biographical Sketch

Professor Frampton is the Tier II Canada Research Chair in Cell, Biomaterial and Matrix Interaction in the School of Biomedical Engineering at Dalhousie University.

He leads an interdisciplinary team working at the intersection of materials science, cell biology and clinical research to design next-generation technologies for: (1) understanding fundamental biological processes; (2) understanding how diseases work and improving diagnosis; and (3) developing therapies using advanced natural and synthetic materials.

The Frampton Lab is engaged in numerous collaborative projects across academic disciplines, e.g., with neurobiologists to develop materials for repairing spinal cord and peripheral nerve damage, with immunologists to examine the role of immune cells in asthma and other respiratory diseases using living tissue models grown in the lab, and with physicists and chemists to understand the fundamental properties of soft materials such as gels, fibers, and emulsions.

The Frampton Lab is also engaged in several industry collaborations to develop new bio-inks for 3D bioprinting and materials for the repair of acute and chronic wounds. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Frampton is CSO of 3D BioFibR Inc., an advanced material manufacturing company that spun off from his laboratory in 2020.

John P. Frampton, Associate Professor in Dalhousie University's School of Biomedical Engineering

Professor John P. Frampton, from Dalhousie University's School of Biomedical Engineering