野々山 貴行

  Cartilage tissues are a single-use tissue like an eraser that can not be expected to cure naturally if it is degraded or damaged due to injury, disease, aging, etc. Although the current radical treatment is artificial joint replacement, which replaces hard materials, not only normal tissues have to be resected, but also there are clinical problems such as loosening in long-term use. Therefore, there is a strong demand for developments of next-generation artificial cartilage and ultimate tissue reconstruction. We have developed a robust gel that satisfies the physical properties required for artificial cartilage, and are further developing technology to firmly fix it in proper place of defect for a long time. Focusing on the fact that natural cartilage tissue is in continuous contact with bone tissue, when the inorganic main component of bone is combined with gel, bone regeneration can penetrate inside the gel and achieve non-toxic and strong adhesion. We are also creating high-strength composite materials by combining bioceramics and hydrogel.

  General polymer materials behave as a hard glassy state below glass-transition temperature (Tg), and change to a soft rubbery state above Tg. We are creating temperature-responsive active materials that are more than 1000 times harder at high temperatures, which is the reverse thermal behavior of general polymers. This material is extremely easy to make, using very inexpensive and non-toxic chemicals, and can be hardened repeatedly. This material is intended to be used as a smart protector responsive to heat and a heat absorbing material that absorbs heat from sunlight and reduces the temperature rise in the room.