Bioinstructive aerogels for healthcare applications

Aerogels are advanced nanoporous materials with an open pore structure and large specific surface area. Aerogels typically have a low weight and density and exhibit unusual properties including low heat conductivity and high mechanical strength. Whilst the properties of aerogels, e.g. mechanical strength coupled with porosity, indicate that these materials could find significant application in healthcare, for example as scaffolds to stimulate endogenous repair in bone defects, aerogels are conventionally prepared from inorganic compounds, such as silica. To create aerogels capable of integrating into host tissue a paradigm shift is required to develop bioinstructive aerogels with the chemical, physical and morphological characteristics required to modulate cellular events, provide physical support and vascularization and ultimately remodel alongside tissue formation. This PhD project will provide a deliberate integration of new materials in biology by the development of bioinstructive aerogels from biological tissues. Extracellular matrix (ECM) derived hydrogels contain spatial, temporal and topological cues. Matri-cryptic peptides, matrix-bound vesicles, proteins and growth factors retained after processing provide instruction to restore cell function and have been shown to promote constructive remodelling in vivo. The development of bioinstructive aerogels will provide a new class of biologically inspired materials, with a unique combination of biological cues and responses combined with structure and mechanical properties required to support tissue regeneration and formation. The creation of aerogels from biological materials has never been attempted and will require new approaches to minimise damage to the ECM and create stable, cross-linked hydrogels that can undergo solvent exchange and supercritical drying to produce bioinstructive aerogels.