Special Focus 
BIOENGINEERING RESEARCH

Bioengineering combines the analytical and experimental methods of engineering with the biological and medical sciences to achieve a more detailed understanding of biological phenomena and to develop new techniques and devices. The engineer's quantitative and analytical approach, traditional competence in the processing and control of information, energy, and materials, and ability to design and analyze systems are powerful tools when applied to biology and medicine.

The Multiple Facets of Bioengineering.

Bioengineers deal with a wide variety of problems. Graduates may work as biomedical engineers with medical practitioners to develop new medical techniques, and instrumentation for manufacturing companies. Clinical engineers work in hospitals and clinics to maintain and improve the vast amount of technological support required in modern medicine. With advanced degrees in the various fields of bioengineering, some graduates perform basic research.
 
Bioengineering laboratories conduct basic research for diverse applications ranging from development of artificial organs and tissue engineering, workplace ergonomics, biosensors, etc. In the future, bioengineers will need to be proficient in such biological/engineering problems as the designing of matrices to attach cells in artificial organs. Engineering gene therapies to correct a specific defect; designing biomaterials for ligaments; and the development of controlled release devices for drug administration. Thus, any bioengineering curriculum should be designed to provide students with the skills to explore basic science approaches to understanding the biological systems involved and to design processes and/or materials to "correct" the defect.
 
A US Congress workshop on the future of medical technologies has recently concluded that "Medical devices, technologies and services will be the dominant economic activity of the US this century". Examples quoted are computer-assisted surgery, image guided operating robots and augmented reality in surgery (merging actual images with computer generated images). It is reasonable to expect a similar impact on the Singapore economy. The success of this future medical technology will depend greatly on input from biomedical engineers. The combination of technological innovation and sophisticated computer modeling in the bioengineering field could have major benefits for Singapore society. 

For both social and economic reasons it is important that Singapore engineers and scientists participate in research and development in the increasingly important bioengineering industry. Bioengineering is a well-established engineering discipline with its roots in engineering and the physical sciences, but with strong links to both medical science and clinical practice. Bioengineering research at the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at NUS focuses, for example, on the production of protein-based drugs using recombinant DNA technology, the controlled release of radiosensitizers in radiotherapy and the design and the use of polymers for administration of anticancer drugs. The following articles describe some of the cutting-research conducted in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at NUS in this increasingly important area.

Using conventional techniques most drugs can only be administered in limited doses and time periods. In Assoc Prof SS Feng's work, the goal is to develop techniques to fabricate nanoparticles of biodegradable polymers/bioadhesive materials. This can be used as a mean of alternative clinical administration of anticancer drugs and, with further modification, for their oral delivery. In their study, paclitaxel was used as a prototypical anticancer drug, while the techniques developed will be applicable to other anticancer drugs.

In the research of Prof MGS Yap, the aim is to improve the yield and quality of biotherapeutics in mammalian cell cultures. Prof MGS Yap believes that in order for the approach to succeed, it should encompass the entire bioprocessing chain, beginning from the host cell itself, down to the final product. Therefore, their research efforts and resources are channeled towards cell line engineering, medium design, bioreactor and cell culture optimization, and product quality analysis and stabilization.

Dr Wang's research stems from the realization that drug discovery and development alone are not enough and often correct dosing and targeting are equally important for clinical success. Research in controlled drug release systems specifically focus on these areas to enhance the efficacy of therapeutics, offering many promises, advantages and potential rewards over traditional therapy. With the increasing complexity of therapeutic regimens for applications such as vaccine delivery and radiotherapy, the increase in sophistication of drug delivery systems must naturally follow to add flexibility to fulfill dosage requirements. Some of these novel drug delivery systems are described in Dr. Wang's article.