Individual Projects

Novel Biomaterials for Cell Transfection and Extracellular Matrices Marie-Caline Abadjian Mentor: Zhibin Guan In the area of biomaterials research, our group focuses on the design of new and improved material systems derived from naturally abundant building blocks (carbohydrates and peptides). In using these starting materials we have synthesized biomaterials with: 1) rich functionality, making them ideal for further structural fine-tuning and allowing optimization of polymer systems; 2) inherent biocompatibility, being derived from biotic starting materials; 3) biodegradability, as polymer chains are linked with enzymatically cleavable bonds; and 4) scalability, because of the simplicity with which the polymers are synthesized and the bulk availability of the starting materials. Thus far, a novel class of carbohydrate-derived side-chain polyethers was synthesized by condensation polymerization. These polymers combine biodegradability and funcionalizability while resisting non-specific protein adsorption, which makes them excellent candidates for anti-fouling biomaterial applications. Additionally, a series of cationic carbohydrate-peptide copolymers was synthesized as a new class of biomaterials. Through collaboration with colleagues in the biophysics and physiology departments, we found that these polymers allow gene transfection while maintaining excellent cell viability. Encouraged by these promising results, we are now focusing attention on the synthesis of extracellular matrices for tissue engineering. Using the same basic design criteria, we have synthesized a novel hydrogel, which is currently undergoing in vitro cellular testing for tissue engineering applications through collaborations with colleagues in our biomedical engineering department. The synthesis of a series of these hydrogels remains the focus of ongoing research.