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Marie Curie Host Fellowships for the Transfer of Knowledge (ToK) Industry-Academia Partnership Scheme

Materials for Tissue engineering - MATISS


Registration Number: MKTI-CT-2006-042768

The main purpose of the project is to manufacture novel biomaterials for wound- and burn-healing and tissue regeneration and characterise their mechanical, physical and physicochemical properties and evaluate their biocompatibility and performance in the required applications.

In this project natural and natural/synthetic polymer hydrogels produced by cryopolymerisation will be used to design new materials for tissue regeneration. The existing know how in polymer chemistry, synthesis of activated carbons, protein biochemistry, cell biology and manufacturing of biomaterials, owned by the academic and industrial partners involved in this project, will be combined in order to develop and manufacture novel materials for efficient treatment of wounds and burns and with a potential for wider use in tissue scaffolding and regenerative medicine.

The objectives of the project are:

(i) to develop a new technology for production of supermacroporous polymer cryogels for wound healing and tissue regeneration.

(ii) to produce a number of biopolymer cryogels and evaluate their mechanical, physical and physicochemical properties.

(iii) to design a wound-healing material based on polymer cryogels with incorporated activated carbon.

(iv) to design a composite polymer cryogel/activated carbon fibre wound dressing.

(v) to evaluate in vitro biocompatibility of the materials in (i) - (iv).

(vi) to test performance of the materials in (i) - (iv) on advanced 3D skin models.

(vii) to assess the potential of the materials in (i) and (ii) for cell growth and tissue regeneration.


Ø University of Brighton, United Kingdom


Ø University of Lund, Sweden

Ø Protista Biotechnology AB, Sweden

Ø Queen Victoria Hospital Blond-McIndoe Research Foundation, United Kingdom

Ø MAST Carbon Technology Ltd, United Kingdom

Ø Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, Belgium

Ø StratiCELL Screening Technologies SA, Belgium

Some background information to the project

Millions of patients seek medical attention for burn-injuries each year with more than 2.4 million in the US alone. According to the American Burn Association, up to 10 000 people in the US die from burn-related infections each year, Pneumonia is the most common infectious complication among hospitalized burn patients. Burns are one of the most complex and harmful physical injuries, they often require trauma care, followed by careful evaluation and appropriate wound management. The type and severity of the burn will is likely to affect the type and amount of scarring a person will experience.

According to statistics, in the UK alone there is an estimate of 112 000 injuries per year involving burns and scalds of which around 7765 cause severe injuries causing victims to be admitted as in-patients and 211 fatal accidents. An estimated 58% of all severe injuries involve victims being admitted for more than five days for in-patient care at hospitals or special burn-units. Many of these victims suffer extensive full thickness burns and require plastic surgery for many years following the accident. Apart from the obvious physical pain, many victims (and their family) suffer psychological distress for many years. Pre-school children are the age group at the greatest risk, accounting for 75% of all severe child-injuries. Elderly people (65+) are at a 4-5 times greater risk for fatal injuries, compared to the population as a whole. Twenty years ago, burns covering half the body were routinely fatal; today, patients with burns covering 90% of the body can survive, although often with permanent impairments.

Complications following injury, shock and burns may occur long after the initial incident, often with the patient in an intensive care unit. Improving methods of wound healing and tissue repair by introducing new materials such as skin substitutes will improve the quality of life for trauma and burn patients, and may also significantly reduce health-care costs.

For more information please consult the following link


For any questions please contact Professor Sergey Mikhalovsky

e-mail S.Mikhalovsky@bton.ac.uk
