The restorative department at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine is committed to ongoing research focused on advancing oral health and supporting ongoing development and programs for both students and faculty.
The mission of the AFSAR lab, directed by Dr. Mohammad Ali Saghiri, is to use biomaterial technology in the development of new medical innovations and research at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.
Our group is highly interdisciplinary as our research is positioned at the intersection of materials science and dental medicine; we work with a variety of collaborators to lead our biomaterials towards clinical use. The Lab hopes to provide a resource for research collaborators, inventors, and entrepreneurs to accelerate their biomaterials-related work, while pursuing the next steps toward breakthroughs and commercialization. The program bridges between nanotechnology, dental, and bioengineering with emphasis of development of a new biomaterials base for enhanced human health.
The center is responsible for conducting research with an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental approach transferring basic and applied science and technology of biomaterials to students, graduate students, and faculty, as well as practicing dentists. The main educational goal of the center is to provide an advanced knowledge of research and methodology for materials applications.
At Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, our testing systems are optimized for mechanical properties and biomaterials characterization for needs ranging from micro-scale compression to biaxial tension. The laboratory houses equipment used for maintenance, processing, and characterization of biological materials and biomaterials.
The goal of the lab component of this course is to provide students with hands-on experience in materials synthesis, characterization and modification. We have equipment for mechanical testing of different types of materials including ceramics, biological tissues, and implants. In addition, we have equipment to analyze surfaces including micro-hardness tester, contact profilometer and several standard light microscopes.
We have unique expertise on testing dental materials under simulated oral conditions and mastication including bacteria exposure and cyclic loading representing mastication.