The University of Würzburg was successful in the competition for a new research building. (Image: Robert Emmerich / Universität Würzburg)
The University of Würzburg plans to build a "Center of Polymers for Life". Rating the new project as excellent, the German Council of Science and Humanities has recommended its implementation. Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany, aims to add another new building to its research infrastructure: the "Center of Polymers for Life" (CPL). So what is the new project about? The "polymers for life" are designed for innovative applications in medicine. Polymers are complex molecules that are already widely used in clinical practice: as bone cement, artery stents or artificial heart valves. However, the currently approved polymers are not suitable for all applications. For example, their processability or degradation behaviour in the body needs to be improved. Moreover, the new field of research known as biofabrication has promised further innovations for using polymers for some years. Biofabrication refers to automated 3D printing processes where polymers and living cells are processed simultaneously as "bioinks" to create structures similar to body tissue right after being produced. "This enables researchers to create functional tissue models using automated and standardised processes," says JMU Professor Jürgen Groll, who is the CPL's spokesman and heads the JMU Chair of Functional Materials in Medicine and Dentistry. Such models are highly valuable as alternatives to animal testing, in pharmaceuticals and cancer research and for regenerative therapies such as custom-made implants to rebuild bones. Bavarian Minister of Science congratulates
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