Australian Research Capabilities - Strengths

The key strength of ARNTE is that it will create an interdisciplinary network bringing together Australian researchers from a broad range of disciplines. They will perform mechanistic studies on the physical and chemical characteristics of natural and synthetic scaffolds and the interactions of such scaffolds with cells and proteins, for potential applications in tissue engineering. They are also concerned with broader issues, such as the social, ethical, economic and legal context in which TE research, and the benefits that accrue from it, occurs.

ARNTE has research strengths in the following areas
• Biomaterial design and fabrication
• Physico-chemical characterisation of biomaterials
• Biological and functional testing of biomaterials including animal surgery
• Cell Biology – cell isolation, culture and functional analysis techniques
• Ex vivo assessment of biomaterials including histological evaluation
• Characterisation of biomaterial-cell interactions
• Protein chemistry focused on extracellular matrix surface and cellular interactions
• Molecular Biology of proteins identified above and the cellular response to them
• Transplantation immunology
• Commercialisation of research and intellectual property

Participants in the ARNTE are involved in cross disciplinary areas outlined below;
• Creation of biomaterial scaffolds
• Surface modification for creation of biomaterials
• Physical chemical studies of biomaterial scaffolds
• Biomaterial – cell interactions
• Biomaterial – protein interactions
• Drug delivery
• Vascularisation of tissue engineered constructs
• Extracellular matrix growth factor complexes for repair and regeneration?
• Cell-cell and cell-tissue mechanics and function
• Bioreactor technology for ex vivo growth of engineered constructs