TRR 37:  Micro- and Nanosystems in Medicine - Reconstruction of Biological Functions

• Subject Area: Medicine ; Biology ; Materials Science and Engineering
• Term: from 2007 to 2012
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 18489454

The Transregional Collaborative Research Centre has been established in cooperation with the RWTH Aachen University, University of Rostock and the universities in Hannover including Hannover Medical School (MHH), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo) and Leibniz Universität Hannover. The main research topics are designated to new implant technologies using micro- and nanosystems as well as new bioactive materials and implant interfaces. Within this interregional cooperative project the conception of different research projects focuses on expanding the competence and scientific excellence by direct interdisciplinary cooperation between medicine, biology and engineering.
The project area A "Photons - cell surgery and cell manipulation" assembles the projects from the fields of optical technologies, photonics and particularly laser technologies dealing with manipulation of biological cells and cell clusters using optical procedures. Within the project area B "Biointerface - biofunctionalisation of surfaces", interactions of technical surfaces, particles and three-dimensional substrates with surrounding cells or tissue will be examined. Constitutive to the obtained results in area B, project area C "Functions - intelligent devices and systems", covers the design of highly functional and intelligent devices for cardiovascular applications and therapeutic systems for "eye and ear diseases". These three project areas are enclosed by the interdisciplinary cross sectional Q-projects: Q1 "Cellular laser microscopy" and Q2 "Biocompatibility" dealing with the development of methods for optical cellular analysis and determination of tissue and blood compatibility of new bioactive materials and nano-structured implants.
Further developments of bioactive materials aim at the regeneration of natural tissue, the acceleration and retardation of biological and biochemical processes as wells as cell manipulation. The expected technological breakthrough in this research field will depend on the advances in micro- and nano system technology. This Transregional Collaborative Research Centre will support the investigation of the interactions between small technical structures of micro to nano dimensions with vital cells and tissues and develop methods to manipulate cellular structures. Thus, we will gain deeper understanding of pathophysiological correlations with respect to the etiology of respective diseases.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios

Completed projects

• A02 - Laser based transfection of stem cells (Project Heads Heisterkamp, Alexander ;  Junghanß, Christian ;  Murua Escobar, Hugo )
• A04 - Laser-induced forward transfer of biomaterials (Project Heads Chichkov, Boris ;  Reimers-Fadhlaoui, Kerstin ;  Steinhoff, Gustav )
• A05 - Optisch induzierte Anregung der Cochlea. Entwicklung eines optoakustischen Aktors für die Cochlea mit Nanosekundenauflösung. (Project Heads Ertmer, Wolfgang ;  Lenarz, Thomas )
• B01 - Adhesion and Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Functionalized Surfaces (Project Heads Möller, Martin ;  Rychly, Joachim )
• B02 - Biofunktionalisierte Mikro- und Nanofaserstrukturen als textiles Biointerface zur gesteuerten Proliferation und Differenzierung von humanen Präadipozyten und endothelialen Vorläuferzellen (Project Heads Klee, Doris ;  Ma, Nan )
• B03 - Surface modification and bioactivation (Project Heads Chichkov, Boris ;  Westhofen, Martin )
• B04 - Endothelial cells in shear fields (Project Head Glasmacher, Birgit )
• B05 - Magnetische Polymer-Nanopartikel: Gentransfer/Drug delivery und Stammzelldifferenzierung kontrolliert durch magnetische Pol-Zeilen (Project Heads Rissing, Lutz ;  Steinhoff, Gustav ;  Zenke, Martin )
• C01 - Bioartificial Vascular Prosthesis (Project Heads Chichkov, Boris ;  Haverich, Axel ;  Möller, Martin ;  Sternberg, Katrin )
• C02 - Micro functionalized shape memory implants (Project Heads Barcikowski, Stephan ;  Blindt, Rüdiger ;  Herzog, Dirk ;  Kracht, Dietmar ;  Ostendorf, Andreas )
• C03 - Microstent for Ophthalmology (Project Heads Chichkov, Boris ;  Guthoff, Rudolf Friedrich ;  Schmitz, Klaus-Peter )
• C04 - Nanoparticle-Silicone-Composite Implants (Project Heads Paasche, Gerrit ;  Sajti, Csaba Laszlo ;  Schmitz, Klaus-Peter )
• Q01 - Optische multimodale in vivo Bildgebung von zellulären, intra- und periimplantären Prozessen (Project Heads Guthoff, Rudolf Friedrich ;  Heisterkamp, Alexander )
• Q02 - Cross section domain of biocompatibility (Project Heads Glasmacher, Birgit ;  Loos, Anneke ;  Löbler, Marian )
• Z01 - Verwaltung / Zentrale Aufgaben des SFB/Transregio (Project Head Haverich, Axel )

• Applicant Institution: Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
• Co-Applicant Institution: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover; Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen; Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover; Universität Rostock
• Participating Institution: Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH)
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Axel Haverich