The research of Derick Miller, Professor Tom Webster and Professor Karen Haberstroh of Purdue's Cell Biomechanics and Nanostructured Biomaterials Lab is currently being featured on nanotechweb.org, a site developed to provide a virtual meeting point for anyone involved in the field of nanotechnology.

The project on designing nanostructured polymers for vascular applications contrasts current vascular biomaterials such as Dacron and polytetrafluroethylene (which are designed with microscale topographies) with newly designed synthetic nanostructured polymeric biomaterials. Previously, it has been shown that changing the surface topography from the micron to nanometer scale results in increased bone cell functions. It is hoped that the development of these new materials will lead to improved cell attachment and growth on vascular grafts ex vivo and to enhance tissue integration in vivo.

The full article can be found at http://www.nanotechweb.org/yournews/5573