Researchers develop artificial, bonelike material for use with medical devices

Researchers have developed a new approach for better integrating medical devices with biological systems. The researchers, led by Bozhi Tian, assistant professor in chemistry at the University of Chicago, have developed the first skeleton-like silicon spicules ever prepared via chemical processes. "Using bone formation as a guide, the Tian group has developed a synthetic material from silicon that shows potential for improving interaction between soft tissue and hard materials," said Joe Akkara, a program director in "This is the power of basic scientific research. The Tian group has created a material that preliminarily seems to enhance soft tissue function." In a paper published on June 26, Tian and his co-authors from UChicago and Northwestern University described their new method for the syntheses and fabrication of mesocopic three-dimensional semiconductors—intermediate between the nanometer and macroscopic scales. "This opens up a new opportunity for building electronics for enhanced sensing and stimulation at bio-interfaces," said lead author Zhiqiang Luo, a postdoctoral scholar in Tian's laboratory. The team achieved three advances in the development of semiconductor and biological materials. One advance was the demonstration, by strictly chemical means, of three-dimensional lithography.