We study and orchestrate how synthetic materials interact with living cells. We engineer cell-instructive environments and material-based solutions for zero-waste therapeutic solutions.
Our group develops hydrogel materials with programmed and tunable properties designed to encapsulate and instruct living cells. We study how living cells and inert matter interact and how these interactions can be exploited to direct cellular functions and ultimately result in therapeutic advantages. We cooperate with synthetic biologists, biophysicists, drug developers and clinicians to explore the application potential of our developments, with a focus on new materials for ophthalmic drug delivery. We contribute to INM’s competence fields opto-interactive and bio-intelligent materials. Our research addresses biomedical needs.
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Team Members
Research
Hydrogels with latent properties
By integrating phototriggers and light-responsive molecular motors in polymeric networks, we develop 4D hydrogels with optoregulated (bio)chemical activity, crosslinking, degradation, or mechanoactuation. These are used for biophysical studies of cell response to changes in the biochemical and mechanical signals of the extracellular environment.
Model Cellular Microenvironments
We build synthetic models of cell-matrix and cell-cell interfaces with encoded biochemical, mechanical and dimensional signals. To accelerate discovery, we develop material microarrays for high-throughput biophysical experimentation and apply them to study multifactorial cell responses.
Living Therapeutic Devices
We develop bioinks and apply biofabrication technologies for functional and safe encapsulation of cells in medical devices. We focus on self-replenishable living therapeutic materials which integrate drug biofactories and have unlimited therapeutic release. We aim for innovation in ocular therapeutics with living, self-replenishable drug-eluting contact lenses.
Partner
Selected Publications
Puertas-Bartolomé, María | Mora-Boza, Ana | García-Fernández, Luis
Polymers , 2021, 13 (8), 1209.
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/8/1209
Escolano, Joan-Carles | Taubenberger, Anna V. | Abuhattum, Shada | Schweitzer, Christine | Farrukh, Aleeza | del Campo, Aránzazu | Bryant, Clare E. | Guck, Jochen
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology , 2021, 9 (682),
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fcell.2021.639815
Zhang, Jingnan | Zhao, Renping | Li, Bin | Farrukh, Aleeza | Hoth, Markus | Qu, Bin | del Campo, Aránzazu
Acta Biomaterialia , 2020, 119 234-246.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1742706120306176
Roche, Alejandro | Terriac, Emmanuel | Tejedor, Rosa M. | Oriol, Luis | del Campo, Aránzazu | Piñol, Milagros
European Polymer Journal , 2020, 126 109561.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014305719320750
Dumitru, Andra C. | Mohammed, Danahe | Maja, Mauriane | Yang, Jinsung | Verstraeten, Sandrine | del Campo, Aranzazu | Mingeot-Leclercq, Marie-Paule | Tyteca, Donatienne | Alsteens, David
Advanced Science , 2020, 7 (22), 2002643.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/advs.202002643
Feng, Jun | Zheng, Yijun | Bhusari, Shardul | Villiou, Maria | Pearson, Samuel | del Campo, Aránzazu
Advanced Functional Materials , 2020, 30 (45), 2004327.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/adfm.202004327
Villiou, Maria | Paez, Julieta I. | del Campo, Aránzazu
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces , 2020, 12 (34), 37862-37872.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c08568
Puertas-Bartolomé, María | Włodarczyk-Biegun, Małgorzata K. | del Campo, Aránzazu | Vázquez-Lasa, Blanca | San Román, Julio
Polymers , 2020, 12 (9), 1986_1-17.
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/9/1986
Zheng, Yijun | Chen, Zhijun | Jiang, Qiyang | Feng, Jun | Wu, Si | del Campo, Aránzazu
Nanoscale , 2020, 12 (25), 13654-13661.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D0NR02552F
Weinberg, Florian | Han, Mitchell Kim Liong | Dahmke, Indra Navina | Del Campo, Aránzazu | de Jonge, Niels
PLOS ONE , 2020, 15 (6), e0234430.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234430