 ETH Competence Center for Materials and Processes (MaP)| Acronym | MaP | | Homepage | http://www.map.ethz.ch/ | | Country | Switzerland | | ZIP, City | 8093 Zürich | | Address | Leopold-Ruzicka-Weg 4 | | Phone | +41 44 633 37 53 | | Type | Academy | | Parent organization | ETH Zurich | | Current organization | ETH Competence Center for Materials and Processes (MaP) | | Members | |
Open OpportunitiesInjuries to the soft tissues of weight-bearing joints can lead to post-traumatic osteoarthritis (OA), a debilitating, degenerative joint disease affecting about 57 million people in Western Europe alone (~14%). These injuries ultimately result in functional impairment and loss of independence of many athletes and the elderly, representing an immense burden to patients as well as society. The main repair therapies used in clinics to date include: 1) bone marrow stimulation, 2) osteochondral (OC) plug transplantation from a non-weight-bearing site of the joint, and 3) matrix-assisted autologous chondrocyte implantation. Clinical outcomes after these treatments, however, show deterioration of the cartilage 5-10 years post-surgery, ultimately leading to total joint replacement (TJR). It is, therefore, imperative to develop strategies to successfully treat small articular lesions and prevent their progression towards OA.
Tissue engineering has the potential to regenerate joint tissue to its native form and therefore preserve joint function. To this end, the Tissue Engineering and Biofabrication (TEB) laboratory has developed osteochondral grafts to treat articular lesions. These grafts comprise a bone ceramic with interlocking pores onto which a cartilage layer could be cast. Importantly, a novel hydrogel formulation allowed us to regenerate hyaline cartilage matching native tissue-like properties. To further advance this project, novel strategies to improve the stability of the cartilage-bone junction need to be developed. New interlocking designs will be developed with our collaborators from the University of Sydney. Therefore, this project aims to evaluate these designs' impact on cartilage-bone bonding. Establishing an improved cartilage-bone interface will significantly contribute to the success of these osteochondral grafts.
- Biomaterials
- Internship, Master Thesis
| The goal of this project is to develop an integrated framework for the detection and pick-and-place of irregular wooden shingles with rough surfaces using the quadrupedal robot ALMA for automating the assembly process of wooden shingle roofs. - Building, Intelligent Robotics
- Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Organ perfusion is a method by which blood and other fluids are oxygenated and pumped through organs including livers, kidneys, lungs and hearts in order to provide the organ with oxygen and nutrients. Various organ perfusion technologies are already in clinical use to improve organ preservation or even treat organs prior to transplantation. Furthermore, ex-vivo perfusion offers the unique opportunity to study whole organs as an isolated system. Robust organ perfusion systems require close control of perfusate parameters such as pH, oxygenation, flow, pressure, glucose concentration etc. While some parameters such as flow and pressure can be monitored with reusable sensors, others like pH, oxygenation and glucose require disposable sensors that are expensive and can only be used once. Because of high costs of these sensors, most perfusion systems are either too simplified and don’t account for these parameters or are so expensive that only very few laboratories conduct research with them. Therefore, development of cheap sensors, that can be easily produced is important to advance the research in organ perfusion. Further, these sensors can also be applied to classic cell culture where tight monitoring of additional parameters allows real-time assessment of cell cultures. - Biomechanical Engineering, Optical and Photonic Systems
- Bachelor Thesis, ETH Zurich (ETHZ), Semester Project
| The emergence of multidrug-resistant microorganisms has become a major threat to public health. In this project, we aim to understand interactions between nanoparticles and bacterial cells/biofilm and ultimately develop high-efficacy nanodrugs against bacteria/biofilm with multi-drug resistance. Students with background knowledge in material engineering, chemistry and/or (micro)biology are highly encouraged to join this exciting project! - Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, Medical Microbiology, Microbiology
- Master Thesis, Semester Project
| You will obtain functional constructs of living muscle tissue that can be implemented into robots as bio-actuators. The tissue will be realized via bioprinting or conventional biofabrication in 3D designs at the mm-to-cm scale. The deformation of the constructs will be achieved via electrical stimulation of contractile muscle cells, and integrated sensing elements will monitor the motion of the tissue constructs, improving functionality and autonomy. - Biology, Engineering and Technology, Medical and Health Sciences
- Master Thesis, Semester Project
| In nature, order arises across length scales through the collective behaviors of many microscopic objects or particles. Significant progress has recently been made in active matter research to understand emergent phenomena in a variety of biological systems. However, the availability of synthetic model systems that replicate biological counterparts and allow for systematic control of collective behaviors remains limited. In this project, we will create a unique system of synthetic, biomimetic microswimmers at interfaces with complex geometries. Using advanced techniques for direct observation with high-resolution in both space and time, a wide range of emergent phenomena will be investigated. The primary aim is to uncover the fundamental mechanics underlying active matter in living systems and to develop actively tunable materials with distinctive properties. - Biomechanical Engineering, Biophysics, Biotechnology, Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics
- Master Thesis
| The goal of the project is to develop a simple and versatile method for production of robust conductive patterns on textile via deposition of conductive polymers. This technology will allow further development of wearable electronics for biomedical applications. - Chemistry, Medical and Health Sciences, Polymers
- Bachelor Thesis, Semester Project
| The goal of the project is to modify commercially available conductive yarns to improve their operational properties for potential employment in novel garment-embedded sensors for human motion detection. - Engineering and Technology, Medical and Health Sciences, Other Chemistry
- Semester Project
| Our goal is to establish a heterocellular 3D printed bone organoid model comprising all major bone cell types (osteoblasts, osteocytes, osteoclasts) to recapitulate bone remodeling units in an in vitro system. The organoids will be produced with the human cells, as they could represent human pathophysiology better than animal models, and eventually could replace them. These in vitro models could be used in the advancement of next-generation personalised treatment strategies. Our tools are different kinds of 3D bioprinting platforms, bio-ink formulations, hydrogels, mol-bioassays, and time-lapsed image processing of micro-CT scans. - Biomaterials, Biomechanical Engineering, Cell Development (incl. Cell Division and Apoptosis), Cellular Interactions (incl. Adhesion, Matrix, Cell Wall), Polymers
- Bachelor Thesis, ETH Zurich (ETHZ), Internship, Master Thesis, Semester Project
| The project is devoted to development of new generation sensors for human bodily fluid biomarkers. The main aim is development of compact and non-invasive modified electrodes for electrochemical sensing of these important compounds. - Analytical Chemistry, Biosensor Technologies, Electrochemistry, Medical and Health Sciences
- Master Thesis
|
|
