CU-Boulder chemical and biological engineers are helping to revolutionize medicine with the creation of injectable, biodegradable "scaffolds" that assist in the regeneration of tissues such as cartilage, heart valves, and nerves.

A team led by Professor Kristi Anseth has developed several new biomaterials using light-activated chemistries that can be used to deliver cells and other therapeutics to support the growth of tissues that won't heal on their own. The procedures can be performed in a minimally invasive manner, offering real promise for athletes sidelined by injury, said Anseth.

	Kristi Anseth (top left and bottom left) and her team work to develop new biomaterials to repair damaged tissue. Assisting her in the laboratory are graduate students Dipa Shah and Charlie Nuttelman.

The procedure starts with a liquid precursor containing tissue-generating cells, which is injected into the body and then exposed to light. Known as photopolymerization, the technique turns the liquid into a three-dimensional gel structure, which serves as a scaffold to support cell growth. Eventually the scaffold biodegrades so that only the newly generated tissue remains.

This revolutionary engineering technique has proven successful in regeneration of cartilage, a tissue that lacks the ability to repair itself. The team now is developing strategies to regrow heart valves for the repair of valve defects in children and to deliver cells to the brain for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

"To achieve the engineering of complex tissue structures, we need advanced scaffolds and templates that guide cell organization, control cell-matrix interactions, and provide structures and mechanics, as well as the necessary chemical signals in three dimensions," said Anseth.

Since receiving her PhD in chemical engineering at CU in 1994, Anseth has earned significant national attention. In 2004, she received the National Science Foundation's highest honor, the Alan T. Waterman Award, recognizing the best young researcher in the country, for her "exceptional innovation and creativity." A researcher of stature early in her career, she was the first engineer to become an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and also, the only woman engineer.

More than 20 undergraduate and graduate students, who work in Anseth's laboratory, are receiving an unparalleled education as they help to create a future where anything may be possible.