Engineering Hope
in the Laboratory
and the Marketplace

Under the fluorescent microscope, the 3D patterns glow a radiant green, mapping the path for cell growth that may eventually be used for transplant. When they speak of the cutting edge, this is what they mean.

The researcher bringing this futuristic work closer to today's reality is Dr. Molly Shoichet, an expert in the study of polymers for regeneration – materials that promote healing in the body. With the support of Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), Dr. Shoichet and her team have been lighting the way in the exciting new field of biomaterials. Their explorations bridge polymer science and neuroscience in a combination of engineering, chemistry and biology.

Dr. Shoichet's lab has developed a material that responds to laser patterning, allowing the researchers to chemically deposit biomolecules (such as proteins and peptides) inside tissue-like gels in the form of 3D patterns. These immobilized biomolecules will act as a road map that will determine how nerve cells adhere, grow and differentiate. The laser blazes a path in the hydrogel, leaving behind a nutrient for cell growth that will act like a trail of breadcrumbs encouraging the cells to follow.

Technical Information The lab uses polymer design, chemical synthesis and laser photochemistry to create tissue-like gels that guide nerve cells along pre-determined paths, a necessary condition for nerve injury repair. The team developed a material that responds to femtosecond laser patterning, allowing the researchers to chemically deposit biomolecules (such as proteins and peptides) inside tissue-like gels in the form of 3D patterns. The technique uses a turn-key patterning system based on a commercial microscope and is readily applied to a wide range of materials using robust and well-characterized chemistry. Automation enables the researchers to pattern the gels with two or more biomolecules, enabling them to control multiple cell properties independently. Quotation: "OCE really helped launch my career. They were there as a critical partner right from the early stages of my work through to the creation of my company, Matregen Corp." Dr. Molly Shoichet, Canada Research Chair in Tissue Engineering, University of Toronto.

A Shining Example

Cell survival is a key factor limiting the success of transplant. Dr. Shoichet's work advances the fundamental understanding of basic cell behaviour, and is leading the way to discoveries that will overcome injury and disease. Learning about Dr. Shoichet's research at OCE's Discovery 2006 conference, Premier Dalton McGuinty cited it as a shining example of the possibility inherent in fostering innovation: "It's all about hope."

"OCE has helped me make dramatic advances in the research," says Dr. Shoichet. "At the same time, OCE's support has allowed me to involve a post-doctoral fellow and two graduate students in the work, and their studies and the direction of their careers are being shaped in this collaboration."

The hydrogel patterning project has Dr. Shoichet partnering with OCE's Centre of Excellence for Photonics. Her history of involvement with OCE began through a project with the Centre of Excellence for Materials and Manufacturing, exploring the commercial potential of novel fluoropolymers – low-friction polymers with unusually high resistance to solvents – in collaboration with such companies as DuPont, Air Products and Xerox. The research resulted in three patents and has potential application in coating systems.

From here, her work in biomaterials began to focus on treatment for spinal cord injury and drug delivery. Her development of an innovative polymeric porous tube is now being commercialized by Matregen Corp., a spin-off company she founded with co-investment and guidance from OCE. The technology invented in Dr. Shoichet's laboratory is informing Matregen Corp.'s development and commercialization of controlled and targeted drug delivery systems.

Matregen Corp. has attracted attention for its innovations and return on investment. The company has raised more than $2.2 million in venture financing, and stands as another point of light, born of Ontario research, on the province's innovation landscape.