Alan J. Russell

 

Professor, Department of Surgery

100 Technology Drive, Suite 200

412-235-5200, 5209(fax)
arussell@pitt.edu

http://www.mirm.pitt.edu/people/bios/Russell1.html

 

 

Alan Russell is interested in how to use biotechnology to create novel biomaterials and also in how to incorporate biologic functionality into existing materials.  He has dissected the mechanism by which enzymes can catalyze the synthesis of a unique class of polyesters that have pendant reactive groups.  The polymers, synthesized in a one-step rapid biocatalytic reaction, are ideally suited as base materials for the generation of tissue engineering scaffolds.  In another class of projects, he is focused on understanding how to place enzymes, antibodies and signal peptides into coatings and monolithic polymers.  For example, he is designing thin urethane films which contain antibodies and enzymes to generate coatings that attract specific cells and interact with those cells using the bio-functionality in the coating.  Finally, Russell has synthesized an array of materials that self-assemble into nanostructures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nanocarpet: SEM image of self-organized nanotube array.