Screening, Modelling and Optimization of Soluble Medical Glasses & Ceramics

Advanced materials are essential to economic security and human health. However, the timeframes to discover, develop and deploy new materials is typically on the order of 15-20 years. Governments recognise that accelerating the pace of discovery and deployment of advanced material systems will be crucial to achieving global competitiveness in the 21st century. This research program is focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing new materials technologies faster and at a fraction of the cost associated with traditional materials development. The focus of this research is on degradable materials that can be used as, or as part of, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, or industrial materials/components. In order to achieve this goal, this research program will use, explore, and discover material chemistries that have not been given adequate attention in the scientific literature yet hold significant promise for innovation in materials science. The research program will use advanced modelling to design and test these innovative new materials in a manner that allows materials researchers to predict the performance of a range of materials across industries. This predictive power will shorten the time it takes to develop new materials for commercial use, and also provide the scientific community with much needed data on the composition, structure, and properties of soluble materials. The principal investigator for this work has already demonstrated an ability to rapidly discover, design and deploy unique materials, and his work has generated new manufacturing facilities, jobs, and record setting investments for the Atlantic provinces. Now the researchers are turning their attention to soluble materials that can be placed in the body, and while degrading, release elements that encourage the body to heal itself. Once the material has completed its function, it will be safely eliminated from the body, allowing return to normal function. As a result, and based on the track record of the researcher, this program will lead to breakthrough materials science data that can be harnessed to develop new treatments, new technologies, new companies, and new jobs in Canada. The program will also train the next generation of scientists and engineers, from a diverse set of backgrounds, to advance their breakthrough research into commercial use. Consequently, this program will drive economic, social and health benefits for Canadians. This research is valuable and useful for materials scientists, medical device engineers, materials development companies, medical device companies, chemical companies, and will provide industry, academia, and governments with radical materials innovation to secure global competitiveness in the 21st century.