Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MATRIX-B (Triaxial Magnetic Fields for the Control of Bioactive Materials in Bone Engineering)
Période du rapport: 2018-09-01 au 2020-08-31
The Action “Triaxial Magnetic Fields for the Control of Bioactive Materials in Bone Engineering” (MATRIX-B) looks at utilise triaxial magnetic (TM) fields, with 3 degrees of freedom, to obtain a new generation of three-dimensional field-responsive biomaterials for orthopedic diseases. The research seeks to study new configurations that allow the simultaneous generation and control of magnetic fields in three-dimension (3D), thus being able to control very precisely and remotely the self-assembly of magnetic particles in polymeric solution, producing extraordinarily well-controlled microscale structures. Also, intends to control improved mechanical properties of new biomaterials, since magnetorheology under TM fields is still a completely unexplored field of research. This approach is opening up new perspectives on the ability to specifically control a biomaterial "on demand". Such topics are important because society needs new therapeutic approaches to impulse and assist tissue regeneration in patients with reduced endogenous regenerative potential, as treatment of bone defects are still clinical challenges. Life expectancy will continue to increase, yet unhealthy life years for each individual make up around 20% of a person's life. To replace the insufficiency of organs and tissues in the clinic and opt for a non-invasive medicine, novel tissue engineering approaches are emerging to meet regenerative medicine demands and challenges. In this respect, the use of magnetic fields is appealing as remote signaling for non-invasive controlling and ready activation of smart biomedical devices. The ability to handle, simultaneously and precisely, magnetic fields in the 3D opens up new perspectives on the ability to specifically control a biomaterial. Objectives of this Marie Skłodowska Curie Action (MSCA) have been to (a) prepare and characterize magnetic particles and biocompatible fluids; (b) study of colloidal self-assembly under TM fields and related mechanical properties; and (c) test the response in vitro and in vivo of magnetic fluids exposed to triaxial magnetic fields. Another important parallel goal of the MSCA is to foster the development of the individual researcher.
In MATRIX-B project, the objectives and goals have been conducted via 3 specific work packages (WPs). WP1 included 2 research studies, addressed to prepare the magnetic particles in the fluids and understand the dynamic evolution of this under TM fields. This resulted in 1 institutional seminar communication, 1 conference seminar and 1 journal publication to date, with an additional 1 journal manuscript underway. The aim of WP2 was to evaluate the mechanical properties of the biocolloids under TM fields. In it, she delivered 1 conference seminar, 1 poster communication and 1 institutional seminar, with 1 journal manuscript underway. WP3 included study the response of cells in MR fluids (in vitro studies), the process of aggregation of the MR fluids with in vivo experiments in the presence of TM fields. Under WP3, the Fellow received the admission to 2 conference seminars and 1 poster communication, and she delivered 1 journal publication to date. An additional journal manuscript is currently underway. For researcher training and transfer-of-knowledge, the Fellow has participated in 2 conferences, 3 intensive training courses and 13 short courses to improve the knowledge and obtain the necessary training skills to work in the MATRIX-B project. She obtained a teaching qualification in Spain (Aneca), and she has had the opportunity to join the host University as a lecturer to teach undergraduate students, and, also, she has supervised a student of the Master and the final degree project of 2 students. She was invited as Guest Editor of a special issue of the Applied Sciences journal, and, also, she was appointed Editorial Board member of the Applied Sciences. The Fellow delivered 8 public engagement activities (2 departmental seminars and 6 outreach activities) to popularize MATRIX-B project, communicate findings and promoting gender parity, showing that women's access to the core of scientific and technological practice is possible and necessary. During the grant, the Fellow has implemented the host lab instrumentation, creating a new lab dedicated to the preparation of magnetic biomaterials and their cellular characterization. The results of this MSCA are described in (1) a detailed review on different kinds of thermoresponsive nanomaterials (TRN), including magnetic biomaterials, discussing their potential and the physical mechanisms; (2) a second detailed review on the clinical trials carried out on TRN, specifying their use in diagnosis and treatment of different diseases; (3) three forthcoming papers on how through TM fields it is possible to accurately generate and control chemical/mechanical activity and cellular interaction of the new magnetic biomaterials. The results obtained and data sets collected during this MSCA will allow the publication of other papers, in addition to those mentioned above, and also pave the way to new research lines that are still unexplored in the use of TM fields for the preparation of smart biomaterials for regenerative medicine.
The MATRIX-B project has pushed the frontiers of research in the application of TM fields in tissue engineering in many ways. The fellow has carried out two important themes of this frontier project that will be the foundations to follow new interesting paths towards a very specific, well controlled, and certainly less invasive regenerative medicine. In one hand, she has focused on studying the possible configurations that allow structurally organized preparation in situ, thus making it possible to specifically control the loading and release of drugs, cells, growth factors. On the other hand, she has been interested in controlling magnetorheological properties to facilitate the interaction between the materials themselves with the host biological system and/or to promote controlled drug delivery. This MSCA allowed the fellow to develop agility with many different research methodologies and to interact with other researchers from different disciplines, creating an interdisciplinary environment and stimulating new research collaborations, essential for this and subsequent related projects. In addition, MSCA allowed the creation of a new laboratory where it has been possible to integrate the TM field generator in an environment suitable for cell experiments. This new space will allow advanced experimentation and cutting-edge technology that has an impact on important social challenges, such as health and biomedicine, but will also promote collaborations with national and international universities and research centers. The projects of the tutored students, the classes given, the workshops and the related events, have aroused both the interest of the university community and researchers from other centers about the potential of this new class of materials proposed in the MATRIX-B project. The workshops at UGR on the methodology of preparation and characterization with magnetic fields is helping to cultivate a broader capacity to produce new lines of quality research in the field of magnetic biomaterials. Through the Fellow's research on triaxial magnetic field and magnetorheology, valuable new insights are emerging related to new generation magnetic gels and elastomers both design creation and knowledge generation.