Biomedical Materials Research Laboratory Established with Keck Grant

PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University will establish a Biomedical Materials Research Laboratory with a $750,000 grant awarded by the W. M. Keck Foundation. Researchers in the laboratory will work to develop biomaterials for use as bone implants.

Being able to develop a good bone imitation with the same physical, mechanical and biological properties as real bones would be invaluable to the medical community, say researchers. As the U.S. population ages, an increasing number of people are suffering from age-related bone problems, such as arthritis.

Current treatments, such as hip replacements, often call for the use of either metal screws or plates. The materials used for such implants, however, were originally designed for other types of uses, such as automotive or aerospace applications, and are denser than surrounding bone and therefore inappropriate for long-term implants. Because of their strength, implants eventually weaken surrounding bone, jeopardizing the bond with the implants and limiting an implant’s lifetime to an average of about 10 years.

The new grant will allow the team of WSU researchers, including Amit Bandyopadhyay, Susmita Bose and Howard Hosick, to develop new bone implant materials and structures. These would include materials that would dissolve into the body as bone grows to replace them. The researchers also hope to better understand the process of bone regeneration and interaction with implant materials at the cellular level to allow for implant success.

As part of the grant, WSU will become the first academic institution in the United States to exploit the Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) technology to develop porous metal-ceramic implants for load bearing applications. Unlike the dense implants now in use, porous implants would allow bone cells and connective tissue to grow into the structure, yielding a stronger bond. The LENS process uses a laser to create a complex net-shaped metal version of a bone, directly from a computer file. The research team hopes to eventually be able to develop an exact replica of a bone based on a patient’s CT (computed tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans.

The grant will also allow the recipients to develop better bone-grafting materials. In particular, they are working to develop calcium-phosphate-based ceramic scaffolds that will improve bonding between implants and human bone. Using nanoscale ceramic materials, they hope to build such porous scaffolds, permitting bone cells to grow while the scaffold slowly dissolves into the body and is replaced with bone cells. The team will also be assessing at the cellular level how bone cells respond to different implant surfaces, as well as assessing cell-cell and cell-materials interactions. Whether the bone cells grow well or not helps determine how well an implant succeeds.

“The development of these biomaterials for medical uses promises to have a significant impact on the lives of the many who are and will suffer from orthopedic injuries and illness,” said Jim Petersen, vice provost for research. “By bringing these world-class researchers from different disciplines together, a novel research program has been developed at WSU which allows engineering and science to help address significant societal needs. This grant ensures that Washington State University will remain a leader in the development of these important technologies.”

The Biomedical Materials Research Laboratory will be part of the new Bioengineering Research Center. With the idea of increasing successful collaboration among faculty from various disciplines, the College of Engineering and Architecture last year established the center. Its research is focused on musculoskeletal disease and functional restoration; bioprocessing; and biocomputing. The Keck grant builds on a $900,000 grant the researchers received from the Office of Naval Research’s Porous Materials Program to study bioceramic coatings that could be used to coat metal implants in the body. The center has also received support from the College of Engineering and Architecture, the College of Sciences and WSU’s Office of Research.

The investigators have been working as a team for the past five years. Their work has been recognized with a number of publications and several prestigious awards. Bose last year received a National Science Foundation Presidential Early Career Award, the highest award given to engineers beginning their careers. Bandyopadhyay has also received an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award and a National Science Foundation Career Award.

Based in Los Angeles, the W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late W. M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Co. The foundation’s grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research, science and engineering.  The foundation also maintains a program to support undergraduate science and humanities education and a Southern California Grant Program that provides support in the areas of health care, civic and community services, education and the arts, with a special emphasis on children.