Pioneering new frontiers in medical engineering: Prof. Jonathan DORDICK on scalable bioengineered heparin and magnetically controlled cell therapies

On 22 September 2026, Prof. Jonathan DORDICK of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA, delivered a PAIR Distinguished Lecture titled “Exploiting the Interface of Biomolecular Engineering and Materials Science to Generate New Therapeutic Outcomes”. The lecture attracted about 90 onsite participants and more than 14,000 online viewers across various social media platforms.

During the lecture, Prof. Dordick addressed key manufacturing, cost and regulatory bottlenecks facing today’s biopharmaceutical industry, and highlighted the inherent vulnerabilities in the global heparin supply chain. As an essential medicine listed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for anticoagulation and cardiovascular surgery, traditional heparin production has long relied on porcine intestines as its primary source, making it susceptible to supply shortages and contamination risks. Integrating biomolecular engineering and materials science offers a promising strategy for developing safe, animal-free alternatives to conventional heparin.

To achieve this goal, Dordick’s team developed an industrially viable, cell-free bioengineered heparin (BEH) process. By applying computational protein engineering and transmembrane domain truncations, researchers overcame expression and solubility hurdles associated with biosynthetic enzymes produced in Escherichia coli. Purified enzymes were covalently immobilised onto solid supports to biocatalytically convert N-sulfoheparosan into BEH and low-molecular-weight enoxaparin. Chemical analyses confirmed full compliance the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) standards, while the bioprocess demonstrated the potential for commercial-scale production, with annual output projected to approach 1,000 kilograms.

Expanding into remote-controlled therapeutics, Prof. Dordick demonstrated how materials science can interface with synthetic biology to modulate cellular functions non-invasively. Mammalian cells were engineered to co-express the iron-storing protein ferritin and the TRPV1 ion channel. When exposed to alternating magnetic fields (~500 kHz), the ferritin core generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), activating neighbouring TRPV1 channels and triggering a calcium influx that ultimately drives the expression of therapeutic genes, including insulin. Validated both in vitro and in animal models, this platform further demonstrates the enormous potential of bioengineering enabling on-demand precision medicine.

The lecture concluded with an engaging Q&A session moderated by Prof. WANG Zuankai, Associate Vice President (Research) of PolyU, during which participants engaged in lively and insightful discussions with Prof. Dordick.