Flexible bioelectronics (BioFlex) is an emerging area with broad implications in advancing basic life sciences and providing much needed tools in many clinical applications.  project aims to revolutionize in biological treatment by utilizing advances in flexible polymeric MEMS, sensors, biomaterials, tissue engineering, microsystems technology, and microelectronics through the development of the Bio-Flex platform.

Flexible electronics 

 There is a great need to develop sensors and circuits that are flexible and conformal for wearable and implantable biomedical applications. Here our team is working on integrated sensors, electronics and actuators on flexible and stretchable substrates that are also biocompatible for real-time monitoring and treatment of chronic wounds. The smart dressing is expected to communicate the status of the wound wirelessly to the caregiver, who can trigger an on-demand drug release from the built-in reservoir on the dressing. The smart dressing is also expected to have its own energy source or have mechanisms for wireless energy harvesting. Sensors range from dissolved oxygen, pH, strain and temperature. Treatment appears in the form of electrical stimulation of wound, delivery of oxygen and chemical growth factors and draining of the excess fluid from the wound. In some of these applications, there is also a need to make these sensors on biodegradable and biocompatible substrates using low cost processes that do not rely on expensive clean room facilities.

Tissue engineering

Tissue engineering is an emerging field that aims at regeneration of natural tissues and the creation of new tissues using biological cells, biomaterials, biotechnology, and clinical medicine. According to Eugene Bell, author of Tissue Engineering: Current Perspectives, the main goals of tissue engineering include providing cellular replacement parts, providing formed acellular parts capable of inducing regeneration, providing cell populated tissue models for research, providing vehicles for delivering engineered cells to an organism, and surfacing non-biological devices with cultured cells.

Biomaterials

Biomaterials is the broad research area in our lab and efforts lie at the interface of tissue engineering, microfluidics and stem cell bioengineering. This includes synthesis and characterization of new biomaterials, use of photocrosslinkable biomaterials for patterning the surfaces, understanding cell-biomaterials interaction using high throughput screening and development of micro-/nanoparticles for controlled release.