Biomaterials

Biography

Biography: Theoni K. Georgiou

Abstract

Thermoresponsive polymers i.e. temperature-responsive polymers can be used an injectable gels in tissue engineering because they have the ability to in-situ encapsulate stem cells. Thus a scaffold can be created in the body without using invasive surgical techniques to implant it. The gelation point i.e.e the temperature that the gel is been informed is critical and need to be controlled well in order for the polymers to be applicable for this application. In our group we have synthesised and characterised a variety of thermoresponsive multiblock copolymers where the structural parameters (molar mass, composition, architecture and chemistry) were systematically varied to mainly investigate how the gelation point is affected by these structure parameters. T The optimum molar mass was found to be around 7000 g/mol and the optimum hydrophobic content around 35 wt%. Interestingly the position of the block within the polymer, thus the polymer architecture also influenced the thermoresponsive, sol-gel transition of the polymer. Specifically it was demonstrated that when the hydrophobic block is in the middle that results in a more clear and sharp sol-gel transition. In summary we were able to prove that the sol-gel transition and the gelation temperature can be tailored that is essential for the application by tailoring the structural properties of the polymer.