48 Drugs released automatically into the bloodstreamat the first sign of inflammation. Scaffolds implanted into tissues and organs that trigger regrowth and repair. Particles that deliver medicine to specific sites in the body, thus maximizing the treatment’s impact—and decreasing its toxic side effects. These are just some of the possible applications of so-called “smart materials,” or biomaterials that sense their environment and change their characteristics as a result, with vast implications for the future of medicine and efficacy of healthcare. And now, thanks to a new unit in the Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, these materials will be synthesized at Bar-Ilan. Part of the University’s investment in the field of bioconvergence, or engineering inspired by nature, the Unit for the Synthesis of Smart Materials is dedicated to synthesizing and characterizing smart materials for use by researchers at Bar-Ilan and other universities. The unit will also develop ondemand solutions for research groups and support scientists directly in the development of newmedical devices, synthetic biological systems, and tools for diagnosis and therapy. Finally, the unit will collaborate with R&D players in the biomedical industry. For example, it has synthesized materials for by Nanocarry, a company based on the technology developed by Prof. Rachela Popovtzer of the Alexander Kofkin Faculty of Engineering: Using gold-covered nanoparticles, the company is developing a drug-delivery platform that overcomes the blood-brain barrier to treat brain disease. And nanoparticles based on research by Vice President of Research Prof. Shulamit Michaeli of the Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences and Prof. Jean-Paul Lellouche of the Department of Chemistry have been used by Sol-Gel Technologies, a dermatology company developing topical drug products for the treatment of skin illness. Smart Materials Save Lives Bio-Convergence Research Nanodiamonds reducing in concentration as they penetrate layers of skin
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