ICIR Euroinvent 2025

Ketul C. POPAT

 Professor PhD
Department of Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Surface Micro/Nano-engineering Laboratory,
George Mason University, Fairfax VA, United States of America

Dr. Popat is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Bioengineering at George Mason University. Prior to coming to George Mason University, he was Professor in Department of Mechanical Engineering/School of Biomedical Engineering at Colorado State University for 16 years. He has authored over 175 peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Langmuir, Biomaterials, Journal of Orthopedic Research, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, etc. and has and h-index of 54. He has presented his work at numerous national and international level conferences, has established strong research collaborations with researchers from Brazil, India, South Africa, Italy, etc. He received his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from University of Illinois at Chicago in 2003, M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago in 2000 and B.E. in Chemical Engineering from M. S. University in India in 1998.

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BIOMIMETIC MICRO/NANO-ENGINEERING OF MATERIAL SURFACES FOR APPLICATIONS IN REGENERATIVE MEDICINE

Surfaces that contain micro- and nanoscale features in a well-controlled and “engineered” manner have been shown to significantly affect cellular and subcellular function of various biological systems. Our research is focused towards using the tools of micro- and nanotechnology for applications in biomaterials and tissue engineering. The goal of current research is to design implants that induce controlled, guided, and rapid healing in implants such as stents and heart valves. In addition to acceleration of normal wound healing phenomena, these implants should result in the formation of a characteristic interfacial layer with adequate biomechanical properties. To achieve these goals, however, a better understanding of events at the tissue-material interface is needed, as well as the development of new materials and approaches that promote biointegration. Our work proposes the use of well-controlled nanostructured interfaces to enhance implant integration. We hypothesize that controlled biomimetic nanoscale architectures can promote cell differentiation and matrix production and enhance short-term and long-term integration. Moreover, the ability to create model nano-dimensional constructs that mimics physiological systems can aid in studying complex tissue interactions in terms of cell communication, response to matrix geometry, and effect of external chemical stimuli. By understanding how physical surface parameters influence cells, we can more effectively design material surfaces that can be used in a clinical setting for implants.

Anton FICAI 

 Professor PhD
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies,
National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest Romania

Anton FICAI is full professor and PhD advisor in the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest being actively involved in both academic and scientific life of the university. His major academic interests are related to Composite Materials for Medicine, NanoBioMaterials for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery Systems. The research interests are much broader, having the chemical approaches in the center, and cover the following topics: tissue engineering; drug delivery systems; multifunctional materials; composite materials; coatings, antimicrobial / antitumoral materials; nanoparticles synthesis and characterization; surface modification; etc. Till now, over 350 scientific papers, from which over 300 ISI papers and 22 books or chapters (including 2 edited books) were published along with 28 patent applications (10 of them being already released). The international recognition of the R&D activity can be highlighted by the multiple invitations for participate as speaker at international conferences, the positions of guest editors, member of the editorial boards of different national and international journals as well as Section Editor in Chief of Coatings. Valedictorian of UPB, former participant and laureate of the National Chemistry Olympiads he was awarded with over 150 Gold Medals, Special Awards or Best Paper Awards and recently, he was awarded with the Special Award for Transfer of the Research Results into Economy by the Ministry of Resort during the First edition of the “Gala Cercetării Româneşti”. He is also full member of The Academy of Romanian Scientists and several professional societies.

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DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR LOCO-REGIONAL AND TARGETED CANCER TREATMENT

Cancer is the second cause of death, worldwide. Considering the high toxicity of the chemotherapeutic drugs, targeted and loco-regional delivery is a need to avoid the severe side-effects. The presentation will be mainly focused on two topics, one related to loco-regional treatment of the bone cancer while the second is related to the targeted delivery of the chemotherapeutic drugs using “trojan horses” with enhanced cellular uptake. In the first case, the localized bone cancer treatment is mainly based on surgery, radio and chemotherapy and considering the surgical intervention for resection of the tumoral tissue, the implantation of the smart drug delivery systems can be a solution to assure loco-regional therapy and to avoid the systemic administration/toxicity. In targeted delivery, the main aim is to develop carriers able to specifically target the tumoral cells and, followed their internalization, to release the chemotherapeutic drug intracellularly. All these smart drug-delivery systems are designed with the major aim to develop personalized therapies for cancer treatment.

Seiji YAMAGUCHI

 Associate Professor
Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Life and Health Sciences,
Chubu University, Japan

Dr. Yamaguchi is an associate professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Life and Health Sciences, Chubu University, Japan. He earned his doctorate in Energy Science from Kyoto University. Coauthor of 61 scientific articles, 12 review articles, 11 book chapters, and 13 patents. His work focuses on developing bioactive titanium metals and alloys for orthopedic and dental applications through solution and heat treatment. This method incorporates functional metal ions such as Ca, Sr, Mg, Zn, and Ag into titanium surfaces, imparting bone-bonding and antibacterial properties without cytotoxicity. He has also combined additive manufacturing with this treatment to create porous titanium that promotes early bone ingrowth and sustained antibacterial activity. Additionally, his research revealed that both positively and negatively charged titanium surfaces enhance apatite formation in simulated body fluid. Based on these findings, he developed a custom titanium plate for mandibular bone fixation, commercialized in Japan since 2022.

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BIOACTIVITY AND ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES IMPARTED TO TITANIUM METAL THROUGH SURFACE CHEMICAL TREATMENT: DEVELOPMENT OF ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED TITANIUM DEVICES CONTRIBUTING TO HARD TISSUE REGENERATION

We applied various chemical-heat treatments to titanium and its alloys, analyzing surface changes and apatite formation which is crucial for bone bonding. Our findings revealed that electrostatic interactions, driven by positive or negative zeta potential, are key to apatite formation, while micro-/nano-scale surface roughness enhances cell activity. The mixed acid-heat treatment creates a positively charged titanium dioxide with micro-scale roughness, promoting apatite formation, increased ALP activity, and mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cells, with strong in vivo bone bonding. This treatment was applied to the fully custom mandibular reconstruction fixation plate ‘CosmoFix,’ utilizing additive manufactured titanium, which was launched in August 2022. This fixation plate is designed to fit the affected area, eliminating the need for intraoperative bending. On the other hand, Iodine treatment, using NaOH-CaCl2-heat-ICl3, forms a nano-structured iodine-containing calcium-deficient calcium titanate layer with sustained release of calcium and iodine ions. When applied to a titanium porous scaffold (900-600-300 µm pores), it produced a bioactive layer with enhanced apatite formation within 3 days in a simulated body fluid and long-lasting antibacterial activity for 90 days. Such scaffolds show promise for dental implants, spinal devices, and bone grafts.