Biomaterial Design & Characterization

At the foundation of the Brown lab’s therapeutic development is a sophisticated approach to biomaterial design. By manipulating the molecular architecture of soft materials, specifically ultra-low crosslinked (ULC) microgels, our lab creates interfaces that can “talk” to living cells. These biomaterials are engineered to be stimuli-responsive, meaning they can change their size, stiffness, or chemical properties in response to temperature or biological triggers like thrombin.

We utilize Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) as a dual-purpose tool for high-resolution imaging and nanomechanical characterization. Our research sits at the intersection of engineering and medicine, and AFM is vital for understanding how the physical properties of materials influence biological outcomes.

A major area of our research is mechanotransduction, the study of how cells sense and respond to the physical “stiffness” of their environment. Our group has developed pre-polymerized fibrin-based nanoparticles (FBNs), which may be used as particles or in a MAP-like scaffold to achieve hemostasis and improve wound healing outcomes. The Brown lab recently introduced colloidal-fibrillar composite gels (selected as a Communications Engineering Editor’s Choice in 2025), which allow us to create highly tunable environments that can direct cell migration and adhesion, providing the fundamental tools necessary to build the next generation of “smart” bandages and regenerative implants.