1. Jason A. Burdick, PhD, Department of Bioengineering,
Novel Degradable Polymer Synthesis to Investigate Network Formation and Structure
Jason A. Burdick, PhD, Department of Bioengineering,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Radical polymerizations are used in a wide variety of fields ranging from the fabrication of coatings and adhesives, and more recently for medical use as biomaterials (e.g., bone cements, dental implants) and it is important to better understand their networks for better design. Specifically, we proposed to utilize the controlled synthesis of a novel macromer that forms a crosslinked polymer via a radical polymerization to better understand how the macromer structure influences the reaction behavior and final properties.
During the past year, a range of macromers were crosslinked into networks and the influence of the macromer structure on kinetic chain lengths was assessed. Additionally, these polymers were processed into 3-dimensional biodegradable scaffolds for biomedical applications using an electrospinning process. The polymer used is shown above, as well as examples of the scaffolds that can be obtained with these macromers.