Biointerface: Protein & Cell Interactions with Foreign Materials (4200:496/696) Prof. Liu Biointerface: Protein & Cell Interactions with Foreign Materials – 4200:496/696
Instructor: Lingyun Liu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron
Whitby 406, 330-972-6187, [email protected]
Office Hours: By Appointment
Course Description
This course will provide an overview of the field of Biomaterials and the fundamental principles
involved in protein and cell interactions with foreign materials. Students will also learn the
underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms in host response to biomaterials and various
applications of biointerfaces.
Course Objectives
Upon completing the course, students are expected to obtain the following abilities.
1. Obtain a broad view of various classes of biomaterials and their physical and chemical
properties.
2. Understand the molecular and cellular events that occur to biomaterials in contact with
tissues.
a. Interactions among proteins, cells and biomaterial surfaces
b. Mechanisms of the foreign body response to implanted biomaterials
c. Concepts of biocompatibility and hemocompatibility
3. Understand the mechanisms of controlling interfacial properties to modulate biological
responses to materials
a. Techniques to modify biomaterial surfaces to control the biological response
b. Characterization tools to examine surface properties
4. Familiarize with various biomaterials applications such as biosensors, drug delivery
devices, and tissue engineering
5. Develop analytical and critical thinking skills when evaluating research literature
Student Responsibilities
Student presentations: Two papers each Thursday (starting from the 2nd week), presented
by 2 students with each paper presented by one student. Each presentation should last ~30
min (including 5 minutes for questions). You should summarize the paper in a few slides
and tell us what you think of the paper (such as implication of the paper or your critique) on
the last slide. Papers will be assigned for presentation alphabetically according to students’
last name. Presenter needs to turn in a hard copy of his/her slides. On all Thursdays that
we have paper critiques in class, the students not presenting the papers need to turn in
one-page literature notes for both articles, using the provided template (see sample writeup). Style may be descriptive or in answer to questions. Papers will be available to you one
week ahead.
Class participation: Students are encouraged to raise questions and participate in class
discussion during the Thursday’s paper discussion time. You earn 1% for each question you
raise (out of the 10% for class participation). If you respond well to the question others
raised, you earn 1%. A good thoughtful question or answer may reward you 2%.
Lab: There will be lab sessions on surface modification, protein adsorption, and cell
adhesion. Students will be grouped into teams to perform/observe experiments. Each team
Biointerface: Protein & Cell Interactions with Foreign Materials (4200:496/696) Prof. Liu will be a mixture of undergraduate and graduate students. Every student needs to generate
his or her own lab report, instead of a team report. Format of the lab reports will be provided
later.
Exam: There will be one exam during the semester and in class. No make-up exam.
Paper (project): You are required to write a paper related to the course topics. The paper
should be 7-15 pages long, not including bibliography (minimum 10 references).
Grading
The course grade will be determined according to the following percentage:
Homework
5 points
Reading reports and presentation
20 points
Class participation
10 points
Lab reports
15 points
Paper (project)
20 points
Exam
30 points
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total
100 points
Recommended Text (on reserve in Science Library)
Biomaterials: An Introduction to Materials in Medicine, edited by Ratner BD, Hoffman AS,
Schoen FJ, Lemons JE, New York, Academic Press, 2nd Edition, 2004.
Course Content
Introduction to Biomaterials
Fundamentals of protein biochemistry
Protein-surface interactions: adsorption
Protein-surface interactions: kinetics
Protein-surface interactions: thermodynamics
Protein-surface interactions: orientation/conformation
Surface modification and characterizations
Non-fouling surfaces
Cell-surface interactions
Host response to biomaterials, wound healing and inflammation
Biocompatibility and blood compatibility
Applications: biosensors, tissue engineering
Hand-on Lab: surface modification, protein adsorption, and cell adhesion
*This is a tentative outline, which may be changed.