Wyss InstitutePolymer Chemistry – Wyss Institute https://wyss.harvard.edu Wyss Institute at Harvard Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:48:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 Wyss Institute team selected by DARPA-SHIELD program to develop first-of-its-kind biologically engineered broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapeutic https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/wyss-institute-team-selected-by-darpa-shield-program-to-develop-first-of-its-kind-biologically-engineered-broad-spectrum-antimicrobial-therapeutic/ Mon, 16 Sep 2024 13:25:50 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=40989 Easily deployable and fast-acting approach combines pathogen-binding and immune-activating technologies to assemble a living pathogen-targeting machinery in traumatized individuals By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University received a contract for up to $12M from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s new SHIELD program. The SHIELD (Synthetic Hemo-technologies to Locate and Disinfect) program aims to develop a prophylactic treatment that can be broadly administered to…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/wyss-institute-team-selected-by-darpa-shield-program-to-develop-first-of-its-kind-biologically-engineered-broad-spectrum-antimicrobial-therapeutic/ This collaborative research team at the Wyss Institute led by Samir Mitragotri (on the far right) and Michael Super (left of Mitragotri) won a DARPA-SHIELD contract to develop a first-of-its-kind biologically engineered broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapeutic that can be broadly administered to trauma victims without immediate access to health care facilities. Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2024/09/12130928/SM_Darpa-Shield-Team-Photo-02154-copy.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=93cbcf5b1a775e395c7ec1e1ed729426"/> Repairing patients’ dura more durably https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/repairing-patients-dura-more-durably/ Wed, 20 Mar 2024 17:55:14 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=39492 Highly adhesive and mechanically strong Dural Tough Adhesive addresses multiple limitations in the repair of the dural membrane lining the brain and spinal cord after trauma and surgeries By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — The dural membrane (dura) is the outermost of three meningeal layers that line the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain and spinal cord. Together, the meninges function as a shock-absorber to protect the CNS against trauma, circulate nutrients throughout the CNS, as well as remove waste. The dura also is a critical biological barrier that…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/repairing-patients-dura-more-durably/ A research collaboration of bioengineers and neurosurgeons has developed a new solution to re-sealing the dura that, using a multi-functional biomaterial, addresses key limitations of current repair methods. Credit: Peter Allen, Ryan Allen, and James C. Weaver. SEAS/MIT/Wyss https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2024/03/19161756/Dural-Tough-Adhesive-on-Brain-Tissue.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=95b6d2699fa70e424d085e2f164ad2a4"/> A new glue, potentially also for you https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/a-new-glue-potentially-also-for-you/ Tue, 20 Feb 2024 15:50:09 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=39225 A new bonding method enabling instant and effective adhesion of hydrogels has potential to broadly advance new biomaterials solutions for multiple unmet clinical needs By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Hydrogels are versatile biomaterials conquering an increasing number of biomedical areas. Consisting of water-swollen molecular networks that can be tailored to mimic the mechanical and chemical features of various organs and tissues, they can interface within the body and on its outer surfaces without causing any damage to even the most delicate parts of the…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/a-new-glue-potentially-also-for-you/ This illustration highlights how two hydrogels (shown in blue) can be bonded in different ways by thin chitosan films (shown in orange). The bonds that form are extraordinarily strong and can resist high tensions. Credit: Peter Allen, Ryan Allen, and James C. Weaver. https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2024/02/16095941/PNAS_Surgery_Background.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=f62d44cda05a8f44e01a2a6a823ceb03"/> Tunable ECMs for More Effective T cell Therapies https://wyss.harvard.edu/technology/tunable-ecms-for-more-effective-t-cell-therapies/ Mon, 11 Dec 2023 15:40:55 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=technology&p=38464 Adoptive immune cell therapies (ICTs) are taking their place in the pantheon of modern medicines alongside drugs and gene therapies. In ICTs, immune cells are taken out of patients and engineered and amplified in vitro act as “living drugs” that recognize and respond to disease states when infused back into patients. Multiple engineered T cell therapies, with so-called CAR-T cell therapies at the…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/technology/tunable-ecms-for-more-effective-t-cell-therapies/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2023/12/06093408/shutterstock_1530668297.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=debeee493286d34ac83442d4b193a417"/> Fiber-infused ink enables 3D-printed heart muscle to beat https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/fiber-infused-ink-enables-3d-printed-heart-muscle-to-beat/ Tue, 08 Aug 2023 14:30:44 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=37377 The ink helps heart muscle cells align so that they can contract in coordination By Kat J. McAlpine / SEAS Communications (BOSTON) – Over the last decade, advances in 3D printing have unlocked new possibilities for bioengineers to build heart tissues and structures. Their goals include creating better in vitro platforms for discovering new therapeutics for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, responsible for about one in every five deaths…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/fiber-infused-ink-enables-3d-printed-heart-muscle-to-beat/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2023/08/03100928/ListingImage.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=6a313438976d14b605ac01239eeac89c"/> New, spun-fiber heart valve is a step closer to patients https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/new-spun-fiber-heart-valve-is-a-step-closer-to-patients/ Wed, 07 Jun 2023 14:55:18 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=36924 FibraValves can be easily manufactured in minutes and colonized by living cells By Lindsay Brownell (BOSTON) — Strep throat is a common and treatable childhood disease in the US, but in less wealthy countries, children afflicted with strep can develop rheumatic fever, in which runaway inflammation attacks the body’s tissues. Rheumatic fever often damages the valves of the heart, causing rheumatic heart disease that can lead to serious health problems…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/new-spun-fiber-heart-valve-is-a-step-closer-to-patients/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2023/06/01125901/ListingImage.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=2bedeb11551f811bf243cedfe8c6c8c7"/> A soft, stimulating scaffold supports brain cell development ex vivo https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/a-soft-stimulating-scaffold-supports-brain-cell-development-ex-vivo/ Thu, 05 Jan 2023 15:58:24 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=35235 Hydrogel-based scaffolds could be used for better brain-computer interfaces By Lindsay Brownell (BOSTON) — Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are a hot topic these days, with companies like Neuralink racing to create devices that connect humans’ brains to machines via tiny implanted electrodes. The potential benefits of BCIs range from improved monitoring of brain activity in patients with neurological problems to restoring vision in blind people to allowing humans to…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/a-soft-stimulating-scaffold-supports-brain-cell-development-ex-vivo/ When grown on a viscoelastic hydrogel scaffold, human neural progenitor cells differentiate into multiple cell types that are found in the human brain, including oligodendrocytes (green) that produce myelin (white). Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2023/01/04092536/cells-on-gels_Fluorescent-copy.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=ad127b549f438e3c46a39b743a2ed0de"/> Wasting muscles built back better https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/wasting-muscles-built-back-better/ Mon, 14 Nov 2022 15:55:28 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=34486 Programmable mechanically active adhesive makes muscles stretch and contract, preventing and enabling recovery from atrophy By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Muscles waste as a result of not being exercised enough, as happens quickly with a broken limb that has been immobilized in a cast, and more slowly in people reaching an advanced age. Muscle atrophy, how clinicians refer to the phenomenon, is also a debilitating symptom in patients suffering from neurological disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/wasting-muscles-built-back-better/ This image shows examples of MAGENTA prototypes fabricated with a “shape memory alloy” spring and an elastomer, and how their sizes compare to that of a one cent coin. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2022/11/11125226/MAGENTA-Figure-1-e1668190887745.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=8da08cf73bcc23013636b7c736b9ce00"/> Food-packaging system reduces health risks and saves food https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/food-packaging-system-reduces-health-risks-and-saves-food/ Wed, 29 Jun 2022 15:38:29 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=32932 Inspired by battlefield medicine, this antimicrobial food wrap could reduce food waste and foodborne illness By Leah Burrows/SEAS Communications (CAMBRIDGE) — As food costs continue to rise and a global food crisis looms on the horizon, it’s staggering to think that some 30-40% of America’s food supply ends up in landfills, mostly due to spoilage. At the same time, the World Health Organization estimates that foodborne illness from microbial contamination causes about 420,000…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/food-packaging-system-reduces-health-risks-and-saves-food/ Researchers at Harvard SEAS, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University developed a biodegradable, antimicrobial food packaging system to extend the shelf life of food and eliminate microbial contamination. Credit: Disease Biophysics Group/Harvard SEAS https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2022/06/29110502/art-cover-1-copySM_Bright.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=a4d9f662ef26762ad3822f1be3dcf504"/> Janus Tough Adhesives for Tendon Repair https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/janus-tough-adhesives-for-tendon-repair/ Mon, 03 Jan 2022 18:24:29 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=31178 There is a large unmet need for tendon regeneration therapies after injury. Building upon the tough gel adhesive technologies developed at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, researchers from these institutions collaborated with a group at Novartis to create the Janus Tough Adhesives (JTAs). This two-sided biomaterial can firmly…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/janus-tough-adhesives-for-tendon-repair/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2021/12/15145723/THUMBNAIL_Janus-Tough-Adhesives-for-Tendon-Repair_No-Text.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=88c928e479905badef9e0e8aa678d8d7"/>