Biomolecular and Biomedical Engineering

Experts in Biomolecular and Biomedical Engineering apply chemical engineering principles to biological phenomena.  Research in this area spans a wide range of topics:

  • Molecular Scale Phenomena

  • Polymers As Biomaterials

  • Pre-clinical Studies of Various Biomedical Procedures and Devices

Currently, researchers in Biomolecular and Biomedical Engineering are developing biomaterials for tissue engineering and drug delivery, and are creating both biodegradable and biostable polymers for a variety of applications.  Research is being carried out to design and synthesize polymers with biology in mind, whether to be used for applications related to the skin, nerves, eyes, blood, or heart. The cellular and tissue responses to these materials are also being investigated, with the capabilities to carry out these investigations down to a molecular level.

Facilities

Biological Analysis and Production

  • Micromechanical Tester for testing the mechanical properties of soft materials especially good for testing soft tissues

  • Peptide Synthesizer

  • Cellomics Array Scan for microscopic analysis of cells on surfaces

  • Stem Cell Bioreactor

  • ELISA plate reader

Polymer Processing and Characterization

  • Small Volume Extruder

  • Rheometer for testing viscocity and rheological properties

  • Thermal Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA) for determination of thermal properties, including the temperature at which degradation of material occurs

  • Differential Scanning Calorimeter for determination of polymeric properties, including glass transition temperature (Tg), melting temperature (Tm), and percent crystallinity

Analytical Chemistry

  • Gel Permeation Chromatograph (GPC)

  • High Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC)

  • Fourier Transfrom Infrared Sprectrometer (FTIR)

  • UV-Vis

Microscopy

  • Confocal Microscope

  • Atomic Force Microscope

  • Total Internal Reflection Fluorescent (TIRF) Microscope