MEng Materials Science and Engineering with Biomaterials / Course details

The unit will demonstrate various types of stem cells: adult, embryonic, induced pluripotent and their specialised culture methods. Students will be introduced to the concept of the stem cell niche and how we can mimic it. The unit will also demonstrate many aspects of how 3- dimensional scaffolds can be produced, how cells can populate these scaffolds, what materials are used for the repair of different tissue types, how materials can be made bioactive and promote tissue regeneration and in what circumstances a tissue engineering approach could be a suitable alternative to current surgical procedures. The principals of tissue engineering are discussed and examples of specific engineered tissues are given.

The unit aims to:

• Introduce students to various types of stem cells, their differentiation capabilities and their potential applications.
• Discuss how we can use stem cells combined with biomaterials for in vitro and in vivo applications.
• Develop an understanding of the principles of tissue engineering, the biomaterials commonly used and discuss some specific examples of engineered tissues.

A greater depth of the learning outcomes will be covered in the following sections:

• Knowledge and understanding
• Intellectual skills
• Practical skills
• Transferable skills and personal qualities

• Recognise the differences between stem cell types.
• Describe how to engineer materials to support directed differentiation.
• Define the various material properties that can be exploited to control stem cell differentiation.
• Recognise the principles of tissue engineering.
• Explain how biomaterials can be used to fabricate 3D scaffolds.
• Be able to give specific tissue and organ examples.
• Discuss the importance of mimicking structures of tissues and organs.

• Ability to understand, digest and reproduce information in a concise format.
• Be able to design a scaffold to direct differentiation.
• Be able to apply the correct (stem) cell type for a particular application.

• Team work.
• Ability to reproduce work in a suitable format for a lay audience.

• Presentation and communication skills.
• Team working.

Written and verbal

The recommended reading for this unit can be found on the online unit reading list.