Translating Nature-based innovations into valuable technologies for Healthcare & Regenerative Medicine
ZooTechWorksTM (NatureWorksTM- The Next Regeneration)
Our Partners-The Facilitators
Natureworks is an organisation for the translation of good designs, functions and strategies between nature and technology. The new founded translational and transformative biotechnologies are being implemented in regenerative medicine and general healthcare in the form of template & platform materials, support structures and devices mimicking natural biology and biological systems.
Nature expresses many incomparable solutions to problems frequently encountered in science, technology and daily life. Our goal is to develop material and structure innovations for biomedical, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine fields and for general healthcare. Our expertise is in identifying strategies, functions and solutions, imaging, modelling and fabrication (A general approach). The foundations are good understanding and interpretations of natural history and evolutionary adaptations. That is an understanding of design and implementation of strategies and functions in their environment and related to it. In this project we are also implementing smart biological ontology systems based on the Inventive problem solving strategy and learning from the way biological trade-offs are made and implemented. That is making the best design decision that minimises worsening effects while boosting the desired improving effects in a biological system.
Our Technique for translation: We specialise in (A) finding natural models with useful functions (through rigorous studies of Natural Histories: B),(C) in bioimaging (down to nanoscale), in biomodelling and in (D) biofabrication (down to nanoscale)
Micro-Manufacturing to
product
CLSM for 3D digital image
Nature is a crucible for innovative engineering discoveries. Natureworks is a seed venture for biomimetic & bioinspired engineering to solve major problems in healthcare
Translation
Model from Nature Bactericidal function
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A General Approach to Nature-Technology Translation
Problem-solving
Discovery
Bioinspiration from fundamental physical & biological processes
Following the pathway of bioinspiration we are interested in understanding and harnessing the processes of self-organisation and self- assembly, which underpin embryological development and the genesis of tissue formation and complex morphologies. The exploitation of untapped bioinspiration from developmental biology will be key to recreating complex tissue structures and morphologies. We are exploring the the use of biomaterials to drive and guide collective cell behaviours, self-assembly and self-organisation as well as pre-constructing biologically accurate cellular assemblies, which are self-sustaining functional tissue compartments.
Our Natural Role Models
Our Biomedical
Technologies
TRANSLATION SCHEME
Marine Sponges
Marine Molluscs
Lizards (e.g. Geckos)
Marine Plankton (Diatoms)
Plant Seeds & Leaves
Frogs (Rock Frogs)
Insects (Dragonlfy)
Professor Ken Lee
http://www.biomimetics.com.au/research.html
Professor Besim Ben-Nissan/ Professor Bruce Milthorpe
http://www.uts.edu.au/staff/besim.ben-nissan & https://www.uts.edu.au/staff/bruce.milthorpe
Dr Gregory Watson & Dr Jolanta Watson
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Tissue healing bandages and patches
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Bactericidal and antiviral coatings
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Stem cell and red blood cell factories
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Self-deploying biomaterials and tissues
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Targeted biomolecule delivery and therapy
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Supersurfaces for gene delivery and organoid formation
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Artificial cornea & Tissue engineered breast tissue replacement
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Darwinian Biomaterials (Evolutionary based engineering)
1. Biofilm resistant materials
2. Tissue adhesive materials
3. Self-deployable materials
The NatureLab model inspires our Natureworks technology to create unique and innovative Healthcare products for the Next Regeneration
The Key Technologies under the spotlight:
Our Phase one goals in 2020
Strive towards unique biologically realistic materials, structures and devices for healthcare and medicine.
We are researching and developing a variety of evolution based innovations to fight antibiotic resistant microbes, to tightly close skin and internal wounds, to unfold regenerative patches and bandages supporting new tissues and to convey and target therapeutic biomolecules safely and precisely to where they are needed. Other technologies are being developed to assist with cell and tissue culturing practices and to engineer new replacement tissues in the lab.
A Specialised Life History and Ecology Approach to Translation of Nature Ingenuity into Technology
To understand the selection of adaptive designs through the lens of the life history, ecology and life cycle of organisms with an emphasis on invertebrate and lower vertebrate biomaterial design, composition, strategies and adaptations
Invertebrate biomaterials are an invaluable resource for tissue engineering. Closer study of invertebrate biomaterials will provide a continuous stream of new design and fabrication information for the biomaterial scientist. Biomaterials change within the lifetime of the organism and explanations of adaptations and the way trade-offs are resolved has larger meaning by including influences of individual life history, the ecology of the individual and the life cycle.
The form and function of biomaterials and biomatrices and the strategies that adapt them to their local environment are configured to ecology and life cycle contexts and environments. The trade offs between improving effects and worsening effects on the design will shift according to these parameters.
Therefore, a close-up study of the fine and specific adaptations to local conditions within different ecologies (relationship between other organisms and environment) and life history stages provides us with more problem solving ideas and knowledge derived from the genesis of these changeable , life-time adaptable biomaterials. Consequently, we will be able to learn about more adaptations in biomaterials design set within a single organism.