Research areas

Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory materials

Bioactive materials designed to counter infection, regulate inflammation and create a repair-supportive immune environment.

Overview

About this research

Bioactive materials designed to counter infection, regulate inflammation and create a repair-supportive immune environment.

People

Research team

Director of TERG · Professor of Bioengineering and Regenerative Medicine · Principal Investigator

Fergal O’Brien

Biomaterials · Tissue engineering · Regenerative medicine

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Deputy Director · Principal Investigator

Oran Kennedy

Bioengineering · Biomaterials · Biomechanics

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Principal Investigator

Caroline Curtin

Bio-nano interactions · Biomaterials · Gene delivery

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Senior Lecturer · Principal Investigator

Ciara Murphy

Biomaterials · Bioengineering · Bioinorganic ions

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Principal Investigator

Shane Browne

Angiogenesis · Biomaterials · Gene delivery

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Principal Investigator

Tom Hodgkinson

Bone and joint repair · Biomaterials · Gene delivery

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Outputs

Related publications

2026Bioactive materials

Scaffold-mediated miRNA-155 inhibition promotes regenerative macrophage polarisation leading to anti-inflammatory, angiogenic and neurogenic responses for wound healing.

Palomeque Chávez JC, Dobricic M, McGrath M, O'Connor C, McGuire T, Maughan J, Dervan A, Dixon JE, Kearney CJ, Browne S, O'Brien FJ

Gene-activated materials Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory materials Spinal cord, peripheral nerve and neural repair Skin and wound healing Biomaterial scaffolds

DOI Article

2025Advanced Healthcare MaterialsFeatured

Biomimetic Scaffolds Enhance iPSC Astrocyte Progenitor Angiogenic, Immunomodulatory, and Neurotrophic Capacity in a Stiffness and Matrix-Dependent Manner for Spinal Cord Repair Applications

Cian O’Connor, Ian Woods, Sarah F. McComish, Sean Kerr, Matthew McGrath, Juan Carlos Palomeque Chávez, Jack Maughan, Tara McGuire, Maeve A. Caldwell, Adrian Dervan and Fergal J. O’Brien

Biomaterial scaffolds Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory materials Spinal cord, peripheral nerve and neural repair

DOI Article

2025Biofabrication

Collagen silver-doped hydroxyapatite scaffolds reinforced with 3D printed frameworks for infection prevention and enhanced repair of load-bearing bone defects.

Genoud KJ, Sadowska JM, Power RN, Costard LS, Ryan EJ, Matherson AR, Gonzalez-Vazquez AG, Lemoine M, Eichholz K, Pitacco P, Chen G, Cavanagh B, Garcia O, Murphy CM, Curtin CM, Kelly DJ, O'Brien FJ

Biofabrication and 3D printing Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory materials Bone, cartilage, joint repair and PTOA Biomaterial scaffolds

DOI Article

2024Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)

A Multifunctional Scaffold for Bone Infection Treatment by Delivery of microRNA Therapeutics Combined With Antimicrobial Nanoparticles.

Sadowska JM, Power RN, Genoud KJ, Matheson A, González-Vázquez A, Costard L, Eichholz K, Pitacco P, Hallegouet T, Chen G, Curtin CM, Murphy CM, Cavanagh B, Zhang H, Kelly DJ, Boccaccini AR, O'Brien FJ

Gene-activated materials Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory materials Bone, cartilage, joint repair and PTOA Targeted therapeutic delivery Biomaterial scaffolds

DOI Article

2023ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

A Biomimetic, Bilayered Antimicrobial Collagen-Based Scaffold for Enhanced Healing of Complex Wound Conditions

Matthew McGrath, Karolina Zimkowska, Katelyn J. Genoud, Jack Maughan, Javier Gutierrez Gonzalez, Shane Browne and Fergal J. O’Brien

Biomaterial scaffolds Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory materials Skin and wound healing

DOI

2023Advanced drug delivery reviews

Thou shall not heal: Overcoming the non-healing behaviour of diabetic foot ulcers by engineering the inflammatory microenvironment.

Monaghan MG, Borah R, Thomsen C, Browne S

Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory materials

DOI Article

2022Advanced healthcare materials

Biomimetic Scaffolds for Spinal Cord Applications Exhibit Stiffness-Dependent Immunomodulatory and Neurotrophic Characteristics.

Woods I, O'Connor C, Frugoli L, Kerr S, Gutierrez Gonzalez J, Stasiewicz M, McGuire T, Cavanagh B, Hibbitts A, Dervan A, O'Brien FJ

Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory materials Spinal cord, peripheral nerve and neural repair Biomaterial scaffolds

DOI Article

2020Acta biomaterialia

Rapid bone repair with the recruitment of CD206(+)M2-like macrophages using non-viral scaffold-mediated miR-133a inhibition of host cells.

Castaño IM, Raftery RM, Chen G, Cavanagh B, Quinn B, Duffy GP, O'Brien FJ, Curtin CM

Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory materials Bone, cartilage, joint repair and PTOA Biomaterial scaffolds

DOI Article

2020ACS applied bio materials

Hydroxyapatite Particle Shape and Size Influence MSC Osteogenesis by Directing the Macrophage Phenotype in Collagen-Hydroxyapatite Scaffolds.

Sridharan R, Genoud KJ, Kelly DJ, O'Brien FJ

Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory materials Bone, cartilage, joint repair and PTOA Biomaterial scaffolds

DOI Article

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