NanoMaterials and NanoBioTechnology for Health
Diego Mantovani, PhD, FBSE
Laboratory for Biomaterials and Bioengineering
Canada Research Chair I in Biomaterials and Bioengineering for the Innovation in Surgery
Dept Min-Met-Materials Engineering & Regenerative Medicine, CHU Québec Research Center
Laval University, Québec City, Canada
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.lbb.ulaval.ca
Over the last 50 years, biomaterials, prostheses and implants saved and prolonged the life of millions of humans around the globe. Unhappily, clinical complications with biomaterials and artificial organs still occur, the challenge reside in an interfacial mismatch between the synthetic surface and the natural living tissue surrounding it. Today, nanotechnology, nanomaterials and surface modifications provides a new insight to the current problem of biomaterial complications, and even allows us to envisage strategies for the organ shortage. Advanced tools and new paths towards the development of functional solutions for cardiovascular clinical applications are now available.
In this talk, nano-coatings for bringing functionalities and providing unconventional properties to devices, tools and medical technologies will be presented and discussed. Focus will targets the mechanisms underlying interfacial properties, the strategies for assessing their stability and resistance, and the resulting biological performances. Applications will include bioactive coated stents (fibronectin, phospholipids, and polysaccharides in single and multi-assembled coatings) as well as Ag-doped Diamond-like Carbon Coatings specific to long-term antibacterial coatings. The nano-bio-technological platform required to design, optimise and validate the above mentioned coatings includes plasma-based surface functionalization and coatings, nanotechnology tools and biological assessments.
The intrinsic goal of this talk is to present an extremely personal look at how nanotechnology can impact materials, surfaces and interfaces, and how the resulting unique properties allowed health-related functional applications to progress, from the glory days of their introduction, to the promising future that nanotechnology may or may not hold for continuing improve the quality of the life of millions worldwide.
