HYBRID MATERIALS FOR DRUG DELIVERY

California Institute Of Technology, Pasadena CA

Investigators

Abstract

Hydrogels are water swollen networks consisting of crosslinked polymer chains. Recently, hydrogels that respond reversibly to changes in temperature, pH, or the presence of small molecules have been developed. These attractive properties have made reversible hydrogels the subject of intense study for applications ranging from drug-delivery to smart biomaterials that shrink or swell in response to local environmental or physiological changes. The aim of the proposed research is to synthesize triblock copolymers containing both synthetic and protein-based segments. Such materials are expected to behave as reversible hydrogels that display pH and temperature sensitive gelation properties, making them attractive candidates for use in controlled drug delivery. In addition, a strategy is proposed that allows the incorporation of multiple distinct proteins grafted to a polymer backbone. In a broader sense, the proposed research attempts to combine the strongest attributes of modern polymer chemistry and protein-based materials science to produce materials with tunable chemical and biological behavior.