Structure of PLGA-based Initator and Crosslinker for ATRP. (Credit: Shijie Zhang)
NMR Spectrum of PLGA-based Initiator. (Credit: Shijie Zhang)
The 6S tissue scaffold is used in our lab for various tissue engineering applications because of its unique ability to regenerate tissue and reduce the foreign body response. We are investigating the possibility to make it biodegradable rather than biostable for two purposes:
- No synthetic material is left in the body after tissue regrowth.
- We are able to investigate the behavior of regenerated tissue after the scaffold is degraded.
Based on previous work in our lab introducing PCL into the scaffold, our goal is to develop a new version of biodegradable pHEMA scaffolds capable of degrading faster than those made from PCL. So far, we have developed PLGA-based biodegradable initiators and crosslinkers for copolymerization with HEMA via ATRP that show great potential in achieving our goal. We are also investigating alternative solutions using short hydrolytic linkers and valine-citrulline linkers. We will run in vitro tests first to determine the degradation rate of the synthetic scaffold before pursuing in vivo studies to assess performance and tissue behavior after degradation.
Keywords: biodegradable, Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), PLGA
Active Researcher(s): Shijie Zhang