Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery
The Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Cluster Area seeks to create and apply cutting-edge biomaterials for high-impact biomedical applications and to create paradigm-changing approaches and systems for advanced drug delivery.
Novel biomaterials are created to solve critical issues of the field: guide tissue regeneration, design highly selective, robust and biocompatible sensors, and alter surface chemistry to improve tissue/device interfaces. Likewise, we thrive to deliver difficult drugs (proteins, peptides, siRNA, insoluble anticancer drugs, vaccine antigens) in a targeted manner and to hard-to- reach places (cancer cells, brain, eye, lymph nodes) for prolonged periods of time (controlled release) in order to maximize therapeutic efficacy.
Our efforts in biomaterials include designing novel polymer-protein and polymer lipid composites for sensing of influenza virus, prostate cancer antigen and antibiotics. Surface engineering of biomaterials can lead to creation of non-wettable surfaces to control protein and cell adhesion, stem cell culture and differentiation. We blend and modify biocompatible polymers to improve mucoadhesion and stability of entrapped drug molecules. We cross-link phospholipid bilayers and develop lipid-peptide complexes to alter cell processing of biomaterials. We collectively contributed to an extensive toolbox of drug delivery platforms such as mucoadhesive gels, biodegradable implants, multicompartmental polymer nanoparticles, cross-linked liposomes for antigen delivery, and lipoprotein nanodisks. These platform technologies deliver a wide range of drug molecules and vaccine antigens with a focus on large molecule stability and delivery.
Multi-phasic particles of different shapes can be manufactured with precise control over particles geometry by the Wettability Engendered Templated Self-assembly (WETS) method.
Related Press Releases & Articles
- October 23
43rd Annual Macro Symposium
The Macro Symposium brings together students, faculty, alumni, and industry professionals for two days of invited talks, professional and academic development courses, poster presentations, and a networking dinner. Last year, we hosted over 150 participants representing 10 companies, 8 departments at Michigan, and 25 institutions across the country.
- September 30, 2019 / Article
Recent BI Publications
Publications from BI Research Groups in September
- September 4, 2019 / Translational Research
Cardiovascular Diseases Challenge Seed Fund Awards
We are pleased to announce the funding selections for the BI Engineering Approaches to Cardiovascular Diseases Challenge.
- August 30, 2019 / Article
Recent BI Publications
Recent Publications from BI Research Groups
- August 26, 2019 / Article
Moon Lab Develops Nanoparticle that Relieved IBD Symptoms in Mice
Researchers found that the nanoparticle alleviates symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease more effectively than common FDA-approved medications.
- June 28, 2019 / Article
Recent BI Publications
Recent Publications from BI Research Groups
- June 28, 2019 / Featured
Lahann and Technion collaborators report on scaffold system to study sprouting blood vessels
The team developed 3D scaffold systems with tessellated compartment geometries and a two-step seeding technique to model and study vessel sprouting decisions.
- May 30, 2019 / Article
Recent BI Publications
Recent Publications from BI Research Groups
- April 3, 2019 / BIRG
2019 BI Research Day
The inaugural BI Research Day and third annual microposter session was a huge success! Thank you to all who participated.
- March 20 @ 10:00 am
BI Research Day Registration
Join us for the inaugural BI Research Day and third annual Microposter Session on March 20, 2019.
- March 4, 2019 / Award
BI Innovator Awards Recipients
The inaugural 2019 BI Innovator Awards are awarded to Tim Bruns, Yichun Wang and Rose Cersonsky.
- February 22, 2019 / Translational Research
UM Invests in BI Startup Greenmark Biomedical
Through the Michigan Investment in New Technology Startups (MINTS) initiative, UM will invest $500K in GreenMark Medical, a startup based on technologies developed by BI Director, Joerg Lahann.
- January 21, 2019 / Article
S. Schwendeman publishes collaborative research on long-active contraceptive delivery
A new publication from Steve Schwendeman and his collaborators from Georgia Tech appears in Nature Biomedical Engineering and features micro-needle patches for long-acting contraceptive delivery.
- January 10, 2019 / Press Release
Kotov Lab draws inspiration from cartilage to develop new battery technology
Latest research findings from the Kotov lab on new structural batteries that are inspired by cartilage.
- January 3, 2019 / Translational Research
BI Startup Evoq Therapeutics profiled in Crain’s Detroit
Crain’s Detroit features Evoq Therapeutics, a startup company co-founded by James Moon and Anna Schwendeman.
- December 11, 2018 / Award
Maria Fawaz and Minzhi Yu receive AHA Predoctoral Fellowships
Maria Fawaz and Minzhi Yu, both graduate students in Anna Schwendeman’s group, have been awarded predoctoral fellowships from the American Heart Association.
- October 31, 2018 / Article
Recent BI Publications
Recent publications from BI Research Groups
- October 23, 2018 / Article
Call for Nominations for BI Innovator Awards
The Biointerfaces Institute seeks nominations for its inaugural round of BI Innovator Awards.
The goal of the Innovator Award is to recognize faculty, graduate student and postdoctoral researchers who are active contributors to the interdisciplinary research, innovation and translational ecosystem at BI.
- August 21, 2018 / Award
James Moon Earns 2018 AAPS Emerging Leader Award
This award recognizes scientists and pharmaceutical professionals who are early in their careers, who have made a significant impact in the pharmaceutical sciences that promotes public health.
- May 21, 2018 / Award
Chestek, Moon and A. Schwendeman Promoted
Cindy Chestek (Biomedical Engineering), James Moon (Pharmaceutical Sciences) and A. Schwendeman (Pharmaceutical Sciences) were promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. Congratulations!
Our Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Researchers
Neural Engineering
Learn MoreCell and Tissue Engineering
Learn MoreSingle Cell Technologies
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Joerg Lahann
Wolfgang Pauli Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering; Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Macromolecular Science and Engineering Research Focus: Single Cell Technologies, Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Contact Information:lahann@umich.eduResearch in the Lahann Lab focuses on surface engineering, advanced polymers, biomimetic materials, engineered stem cell microenvironments, drug delivery, and nano-scale self-assembly.
James Moon
John Gideon Searle Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Associate Professor: Biomedical Engineering Research Focus: Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Contact Information:moonjj@umich.eduThe Moon Group develops therapeutics and diagnostics at the interface of immunology and engineering. Research addresses drug delivery systems for enhancing delivery of antigen and adjuvant to lymphoid organs and manipulating immune functions in the context of cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmunity.
Steven Schwendeman
Ara G. Paul Professor and Department Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Professor of Biomedical Engineering Research Focus: Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Contact Information:schwende@umich.eduThe Schwendeman Group develops advanced polymer-based controlled drug delivery approaches including vaccine delivery from poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA); PLGA nanoparticle formulation; and development of mucoadhesive polymers/formulations for intraoral and intranasal delivery.
Peter Tessier
Albert M. Mattocks Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chemical Engineering Research Focus: Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery, Nanotechnology Contact Information:ptessier@umich.eduThe Tessier lab aims to develop next generation technologies for designing, discovering, engineering, characterizing, formulating and delivering biologics ranging from small affinity peptides to large monoclonal antibodies for molecular imaging, diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
Jinsang Kim
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Macromolecular Science and Engineering and Director of Macromolecular Science and Engineering Program Research Focus: Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Contact Information:jinsang@umich.eduKim’s Smart Functional Polymer Lab explores functional polymeric materials and their nanostructural assembly to develop advanced polymeric objects. The research focuses on the rational molecular design, chemical and/or biological synthesis, and molecular assembly of functional polymers.
Anish Tuteja
Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Macromolecular Science and Engineering Research Focus: Advanced Materials and Drug Delivery Contact Information:atuteja@umich.eduThe Tuteja Group research is in surface science, including developing super-omniphobic surfaces (surfaces on which liquids bead up and roll- off). They have developed a novel technique to fabricate nano- and micro- particles of any size, shape, or chemistry. The developed particles’ shape, size, and composition can be used to engineer bio-distribution, skin or lung uptake, intra-cellular localization, and cell response.