PhD Studentship: Inflammation Engineering

Chronic inflammatory and foreign body responses present major healthcare challenges, particularly in medical device (MD) applications, contributing to global controversies. As the MD industry expands—driven by technological progress, regulatory alignment, and increasing demand, with an estimated market value of ~$719 billion by 2029—persistent issues like soft tissue erosion and inflammatory reactions highlight the need for improved biocompatibility.

Biotribology, which examines friction, wear, and lubrication in biological systems, plays a key role in optimising MD interfaces. Effective MD-biology and biology-biology interfaces rely on lubricity, durability, and the fragility of near-interface structures. These parameters, along with cytotoxicity, influence MD performance and biological tissue integrity. Fluid shear stress supports cell proliferation but can induce inflammation at high levels (>1 Pa). However, at cellular/tissue interfaces, contact and frictional shear stresses often exceed 10 to 1,000 Pa. The body naturally counteracts these stresses using soft, hydrophilic gels at sliding interfaces (e.g., joints and eyes), forming shear-thinning gradients that protect underlying tissues. Traditional engineering models inadequately account for these complexities, necessitating new approaches to studying mechanobiology at contacting biological interfaces.

A novel perspective within soft biotribology highlights the fragility of dynamic interfaces, where lubricity is achieved through shear-labile and self-healing gel-like layers. Previous studies have investigated aqueous gels with strong crosslinks, but these fail to replicate the speed-independent friction and high load-bearing capacity of soft tissues. A promising breakthrough is the "polyelectrolyte enhanced tribological rehydration (PETR)" mechanism. This bio-inspired approach utilises entangled polymer interfaces to form load-bearing (F=30N), speed-independent (0.1–200mm/s), low-friction (μ<0.01) surfaces that sustain tissue hydration at contacting interfaces. PETR offers a robust framework to explore biolubricity mechanisms and biocompatibility, supporting the development of advanced medical interfaces.

This studentship aims to investigate the dynamics of fragile biological interfaces using novel in-situ techniques. The central hypothesis is that optimal aqueous biotribological systems balance shear-labile entangled networks for fragility with highly cross-linked structures for load-bearing durability. The research will develop bioinspired interfaces that self-rearrange under shear, heal during rest, and maintain immunological homeostasis, preventing inflammation, fibrosis, pain, and implant rejection.

Key objectives include:

1. Developing novel biotribological instruments with real-time in-situ sensing and imaging to analyse dynamic MD-biology interactions.
2. Constructing 2D and 3D biotribology-cellular models to simulate mechanical and biochemical influences on tissue inflammation and new therapeutic approaches.
3. Designing and optimising bio-inspired, durable ABA self-assembly polyelectrolyte interfaces using hydration lubrication theories and computational discovery to mitigate adverse biotribological effects.
4. Demonstrating proof of concept for novel interfaces that reduce tribologically induced inflammatory responses.

Funding notes:

This is a School of Engineering funded fees + maintenance PhD fellowship opportunity.

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