Walking on eggshells? and sunshine too?

Tissue scaffolding, egg shells, and nanostructures all come together in work being done by Ryerson University (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) researchers Bo Tan and Krishnan Venkatakrishnan. From the Feb. 28, 2011 news item on physorg.com,

… Venkatakrishnan and Tan first began studying nanostructures within micro-electronics. More recently, though, the researchers have started developing nanostructures using a variety of materials.

One example: the pair’s research on eggshell-based nanostructures – co-authored with Ryerson PhD candidate Amirhossein Tavangar – was published last month in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology. But eggshells aren’t the only materials that can support nanostructures; bones and other natural bio-materials are also being studied in Venkatakrishnan and Tan’s lab.

Typically, fragile ceramics or rigid polymers are used in surgery to fix broken, old or cancer-damaged bones. Nanostructures embedded within actual bones, however, offer a better solution and can help “glue” deteriorated or fragmented bones back together. Through a biomedical process called tissue scaffolding, a porous, artificially created material is used to simulate real tissue and stimulate new bone growth in the body – something that other grafting materials are limited in their capacity to do.

This couple (partners in research and in life) are also working on solar energy panels and water quality monitoring as part of their investigations into nanostructures. I recommend reading this article for a good general introduction about how multidisciplinary research on nanostructures can be applied to many fields.

After writing my headline about “walking on eggshells” I was reminded of a song, “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves. Enjoy a happy weekend,

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