Dr Jan Czernuszka

Formation of nanolaminates, composites and coatings at room temperature. Development of novel bone analogues, drug delivery systems and hierachically controlled structures. Mechanical properties of natural materials. Tissue engineering of scaffolds.

Crystallographic texture determination of calcium phosphates
Dr. P. Fewster*, Dr. J.T. Czernuszka
Novel off-axis X-ray diffraction techniques and modelling are being used to determine phase orientation, morphology and purity. Comparison with other techniques will be made throughout. (*Philips Research Labs)

Design and fabrication of ceramic: biochemical: polymer composites
Dr. J.T. Czernuszka, Professor E. Bres*, Professor W. Hosseini**
Additions of bio-chemicals, such as amino acids or lipids, either to the growth medium or onto the surface of polymeric substrates influence strongly the morphology and crystallographic orientation of deposited ceramics. This is being used to create tailored composites and structures.(*University of Lille; **University of Strasbourg)

Properties of biocomposites
Dr. J.T. Czernuszka
Composites of natural polymers and sparingly soluble solids based on natural systems are being made and their microstructures and architectures together with their properties are being determined. New models of how this class of materials behave are being formulated.

Macro-assembled spheres of apatite
Q. Xu, Dr. J.T. Czernuszka
Lipid spheres are being coated with apatite and then deposited on to metallic surfaces. We have achieved hierarchical control of the architecture of the macro-assembly on 5 length scales. The liposomes are being filled with biopharmaceutical agents.(Funded by Dorothy Hodgkins Scholarship, EPSRC)

Tissue Engineering and three-dimensional scaffolds
Dr. J.T. Czernuszka, Dr. E. Sachlos*, D. Wahl, Dr. C. Liu, Y-T. Tseng, R. Walton
Three dimensional scaffolds are being developed for several major tissue engineering applications. There are extensive collaborations with research groups nationally and internationally and we are using tissue engineering to prepare bone, cartilage, arteries, heart muscles, heart valves and liver. (*Harvard, USA)

Three Dimensional Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering
D. Wahl, Dr. J.T. Czernuszka, Professor Z.F. Cui**, Professor B. Derby***, N. Reis***, Dr. C. Liu
Scaffolds are being fabricated using novel ink jet printing techniques. The printing design and processing capabilities are being assessed and tailored to produce highly specified constructs. The mesostructure is being tailored to encourage vascularisation and subsequent tissue incorporation. The nanostructure, microstructure and mesostructure are all being tailored to optimise the degradation rate and mechanical properties. (Dept. Engineering Science, University of Oxford; ***Manchester Materials Science Centre) (Funded by EPSRC, DTI and the Wellcome Trust)

NanoSIMS analysis of Biological Materials
K. Smart, G. Karney, K-H. Lau, Dr. M. Schroder, Professor C.R.M. Grovenor, Dr. J.T. Czernuszka
A Cameca NanoSIMS50 has recently been installed at the Oxford University Begbroke Science Park. This is a state-of-the-art facility for chemical analysis with high spatial resolution and very high sensitivity for most elements. 50% of the time on this new facility is dedicated to studies of biological materials with support from the Life Science Inititative of the EPSRC under GR/T19797. Current projects include; [1] the localisation of metal complexes in a study of new imaging and therapeutic agents for hypoxic tissue (with Prof. J. Dilworth, Department of Chemistry). [2] Trace element localisation and isotopic analysis in teeth (with Dr A.Pike, Dept. Archaeology, University of Bristol and Prof. J.Elliot, QML) [3] Metal localisation in hyperaccumulator plants (with Professor Andrew Smith, Department of Plant Sciences) [4] SIMS analysis of the proteome of a single cell (with Profs. G.Misevic and C. Ripoll, Laboratoire "Assemblages Moléculaires: Modélisation et Imagerie SIMS" Faculté des Sciences de l'Université de Rouen)

Tissue Engineering of Heart Valves
Dr. J.T. Czernuszka, Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub*, Dr. P. Taylor*, Dr. A. Chester*, S. Dreger*, Dr. CT Bowles**, Y-T. Tseng
Scaffolds for the tissue engineering of heart valves are being fabricated using the novel fabrication route developed in our laboratory. The scaffolds comprise collagen, elastin and pores, and these are arranged in a specific an sytematic manner to encourage the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. The performance of the scaffolds is monitored through changes in cell phenotype, tissue regeneration and mechanical property changes. The influence of bioreactor perfomance is being monitored. (*Heart Science Centre, Harefield Hospital, **Imperial College, London)

Cleft palate repair
M. Swan****, T. Goodacre**, Profesor J. Meakin*, Dr. D.G. Bucknall***, Dr. J.T. Czernuszka, N. Rounthwaite
The project aims to create a tissue expander to repair cleft palates and other similarly anisotropic congenital deformities. The project will also examine the mechanical properties of mucosa and dermal tissues to gain an insight into their expansile properties. (*Nuffield Dept of Surgery, **Dept of Plastic Surgery, ***Georgia Tech, USA, ****Salisbury General Hospital)

Musculoskeletal tissue regeneration
Dr. J.T. Czernuszka, D. Wahl, R. Walton, Professor J.T. Triffitt*, Z. Dao*, Professor R. Oreffo**, J. Dawson**, Professor A. El Haj***, Dr. S. Cartmell***, G. Jones***
Bone is a highly vasucalarised and is the most transplanted tissue after blood. These sets of projects aim to highlight the issues which need to be addressed to regenerate bone, cartilage tissue and hybrid structures.(*Nuffield Dept of Orthopaedic Surgery, **Southampton University. ***Keele University)