PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 30-Oct-2014 Contact: Herb Booth hbooth@uta.edu 817-272-7075 University of Texas at Arlington @utarlington A UT Arlington bioengineering professor has received a $1.04 million grant from the U.S. Army that aims to regenerate cartilage tissue and reduce osteoarthritis using a patient's own stem cells, spurred through the injection of microscaffolding made of biodegradable polymers. Liping Tang, a bioengineering professor and interim chair of the bioengineering department, said the research is primarily focused on helping soldiers who are severely injured on the battlefield. "We've found that if we inject microscaffolding that we've developed into the injured area, it can trigger the stem cell generation needed for proper healing," Tang said. Posttraumatic osteoarthritis develops as a result of improper healing of joints, which turn arthritic. It often occurs in soldiers with broken bones from blasts, shrapnel and gunshot wounds. Joints and cartilage are surrounded by stem cells that need instruction in where to go and what to do, Tang said. "The microscaffolding recruits a patient's stem cells that are needed in the healing process," Tang said. "Biomolecules will be released from the scaffolds to transform stem cells into cartilage cells to form new cartilage tissue while reducing the symptoms associated with … Continue reading →

A team led by the Lawrence Livermore scientists has created a new kind of ion channel consisting of short carbon nanotubes, which can be inserted into synthetic bilayers and live cell membranes to form tiny pores that transport water, protons, small ions and DNA. These carbon nanotube "porins" have significant implications for future health care and bioengineering applications. Nanotube porins eventually could be used to deliver drugs to the body, serve as a foundation of novel biosensors and DNA sequencing applications, and be used as components of synthetic cells. Researchers have long been interested in developing synthetic analogs of biological membrane channels that could replicate high efficiency and extreme selectivity for transporting ions and molecules that are typically found in natural systems. However, these efforts always involved problems working with synthetics and they never matched the capabilities of biological proteins. Unlike taking a pill which is absorbed slowly and is delivered to the entire body, carbon nanotubes can pinpoint an exact area to treat without harming surrounding other organs. "Many good and efficient drugs that treat diseases of one organ are quite toxic to another," said Aleksandr Noy, an LLNL biophysicist who led the study and is the senior author … Continue reading →

By Callie Oliver Posted on October 30, 2014 | News | Comments Off Dr. Ken Olree has gained a patent on a method for blocking nerve impulses that could potentially help people with epilepsy, seizures and other neurological problems. Olree, associate professor of engineering and physics, applied for the patent in 2007 and received the rights in September of this yearon his method for coil optimization for magnetic stimulation. A patent is a license that excludes others from being able to make, use or sell an invention. The method resulted from Olrees graduate study started in 1998 with Dr. Ken Horch, professor emeritus at the University of Utah. Horch was Olrees advisor and is a co-inventor of the patent. He has a very good record in terms of developing undergraduate bioengineering programs in a new type of institution, Horch said. His track record speaks for itself. The patent can be used anytime someone wants to stimulate neurons in the brain or in the spinal cord, he said. The original idea behind the method was to block pain impulses using different coil shapes to pinpoint a specific area of nerves. This patent is Kens independent piece of work that was sufficient … Continue reading →