Biomaterials Initiative to Develop Hybrid Bioplastics

NEWS TRENDS

Scientists at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ) have received a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop innovative hybrid biomaterials. It's possible that this could result in plastics that are not derived from petroleum. If the scientists are successful, their effort could have a significant effect on medical device materials selection and manufacturing.

Based on the anticipated properties of the bioplastics, the materials could be used in tissue engineering applications such as scaffolds, wound healing, and drug-delivery applications, says Carmine Iovine, assistant research professor at Rutgers. Since they'll be biodegradable, he also speculates that the properties would take the researchers into the area of nanoparticles for drug delivery.

According to Iovine, the two-year project isn't seeking to produce a material that saves money or eliminates the dependence on petroleum-derived plastics. “We are seeking new and improved functionality by hybridizing two different classes of polymeric materials,” says Iovine, also the project leader. “Certainly one anticipates that the safety potential would be very good based on the component materials, but this will have to be proven.” The project was scheduled to begin in March.

The work brings together two communities that do not normally collaborate—biomedical science and food and agricultural science. The “new-to-man” plastics will be created by molecularly connecting biopolymers from plant polysaccharides (starch) with known biodegradable synthetic polymers.

The New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, located in Piscataway, NJ, received the grant through the National Science Foundation's Partnerships for Innovation program. The biomaterials center has associated industrial members, including many medical device companies, that will monitor the research progress. “It's our expectation that these companies will benefit from the new materials science that's being developed,” says Iovine.

The center's industrial members include Stryker Corp. (Kalamazoo, MI) and Corning Inc. (Corning, NY). Other members include Boston Scientific Corp. (Natick, MA), Medtronic Inc. (Minneapolis), and C. R. Bard Inc. (Murray Hill, NJ).

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