Head of Section: Niels B. Larsen
The Biomimetics section develops and employs technologies in the fields of materials chemistry, microfabrication, and optics. The aim is to replicate, support, and characterize the function of human cells and tissues for in vitro and in vivo applications. Engineering of soft cell-compatible functional materials at nano- and microscopic length scales is a section hallmark. The vision is to utilize our range of expertise from materials synthesis to functional optical tissue analysis to build the next generations of biomimetic components and devices used in biological functional analysis and in therapy.
The section’s five research groups explore and collaborate on synthesis of new functional polymer materials, development of micro-manufacturing and optical characterization tools, 3D manufacture into macro- and micro-devices, and application of these devices for advanced cell and tissue culture. This pool of expertise is employed individually and collectively in a range of biomedical applications. Each group’s core research activities and application areas are described on their homepages below.