The integration of synthetic components into biological systems will shape the future of regenerative medicine. In nature, tissues and cells are formed by complex, intricated molecular compositions held together by both covalent and directed non-covalent interactions. They can be regarded as complex molecular systems. The formulation of an artificial extracellular matrix (ECM) from synthetic building blocks that can assemble and disassemble into supramolecular polymers on demand is proposed to lead to complex tissue-inspired materials. We showed the importance of various design criteria to mimic different aspects of the ECM in a supramolecular way; e.g. we showed the effect of supramolecular monomer design on cell behavior, the effect of dynamics on cell adhesion and introduced stress stiffening properties into supramolecular hydrogels. Unexpectedly, we recently found that our supramolecular polymer fibers in solution phase separate into liquid droplets, i.e. into so-called tactoids, and that they could act as self-standing systems. In future we aim to answer whether these supramolecular fibers in solution can be used for neuronal cell culturing and beyond.
Patricia Y.W. Dankers PhD, PhD, is professor in Biomedical Materials & Chemistry at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). She studied chemistry in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Her PhD studies were performed at TU/e, on supramolecular chemistry and biomaterials (2006). She worked for SupraPolix, and the University Medical Center, Groningen. Her second PhD thesis work was performed in medical sciences on kidney regenerative medicine, in Groningen (2013). She worked at Northwestern University, Chicago, USA (2010). She received Veni, Vidi, Vici (2008, 2017, 2023) and ERC starting, ERC PoC (2012, 2017) grants. She was awarded the KNCV Gold Medal (2020), and the KNAW Ammodo Award for fundamental research (2021). She was granted a gravitation project on Interactive Polymer Materials, as main applicant (2022). She is a co-founder of the spin-off companies UPyTher (2020; advisor) and VivArt-X (2022; CSO); and the start-up company Helmond Biotech-materials Hub (HBH; 2023; MT). She is the CEO of a CRO and synthesis company, SyMO-Chem. She was awarded a Gerard & Anton High Tech Piek Award (2024) for her contribution to the regional High Tech environment. Recently, she was elected to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts & Sciences (2025; KNAW).