Novel Applications for Nanofiber Technology

Synthesized from polymers, nanofibers have an average diameter of 50 to 1000 nanometers. These fibers are well-suited for tissue engineering since they accurately mimic the fibrous nature of the extracellular matrix produced by cells. Using various techniques, nanofiber drug loading can be accomplished. The Seeker is looking for human diseases or conditions for which the properties of nanofibers could provide a significant advantage over current methods of treatment.

Nanofibers can be used to develop scaffolds that closely resemble the architecture found in cells with similar porosity and elasticity properties to collagen. These nanofibers have high affinity for human tissues and could be used to deliver drugs topically (e.g. sublingual, skin, ophthalmic, etc.) and locally (e.g. tumor, fibrotic tissue, heart, lung, etc.).

This is an Ideation Challenge with a guaranteed award for at least one submitted solution.

Applications for nanofibers in the healthcare arena are comprised of three main categories: tissue engineering, wound healing, and drug delivery. Nanofibers can be used to develop scaffolds that closely resemble the architecture found in cells with similar porosity and elasticity properties to collagen. Nanofiber layers of biopolymers containing antibacterial agents are effective for enhancing the growth of dermal tissue while lowering the risk of infection. Furthermore, active pharmaceutical ingredients incorporated into nanofibers have the potential to deliver drugs topically (e.g. sublingual, skin, ophthalmic, etc.) and locally (e.g. tumor, fibrotic tissue, heart, lung, etc.) based on the high affinity of nanofibers for human tissues. The Seeker is interested in new applications for nanofibers that have yet to be explored. The goal is to identify an unmet need in a human disease or condition and describe how nanofibers would solve the problem in a novel manner.

This is an Ideation Challenge, which has the following unique features:

• There is a guaranteed award.  The awards will be paid to the best submission(s) as solely determined by the Seeker. The total payout will be $10,000, with at least one award being no smaller than $4,000 and no award being smaller than $2,000.

• Submission forwarding occurs during the Challenge.  Since submissions will be forwarded to the Seeker throughout the Challenge, please make sure you upload only a finished proposal. You can submit an updated version of your proposal only as a new submission. If you submit an updated version of your proposal, please clearly indicate the new items and/or edits compared to your previous submission. This will allow the Seeker to quickly find the new information and determine how it improves your submission.

• The Solvers are not required to transfer exclusive intellectual property rights to the Seeker.  Rather, by submitting a proposal, the Solver grants to the Seeker a royalty-free, perpetual, and non-exclusive license to use any information included in this proposal, including for promotional purposes.  

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on April 3, 2015.  Late submissions will not be considered.

After the Challenge deadline, the Seeker will complete the review process and make a decision with regards to the Winning Solution(s). All Solvers that submit a proposal will be notified on the status of their submissions; however, no detailed evaluation of individual submissions will be provided.