Lab overview
We seek to answer scientific questions that live at the intersection of physical chemistry, materials science, and biochemistry through using a research approach that combines aspects of all disciplines.
This picture represents our overarching research goal:
This picture represents our overarching research goal:
We primarily focus on naturally-derived polymer materials such as silk and collagen. These materials degrade over programmed time periods into byproducts at are harmless to the surrounding environment. As such, naturally-derived polymers hold the potential for wide use in biomedical applications such as implants, tissue regeneration constructs, and drug delivery vehicles.
A major challenge in using naturally-derived polymer materials for such biomedical applications is that their inherent polymer chemistry does not provide a way for us program how they interface with a specific biological environment. Our work aims to modify the surface chemistry of naturally-derived polymer materials to program how they interact with their surrounding biological environment.
A major challenge in using naturally-derived polymer materials for such biomedical applications is that their inherent polymer chemistry does not provide a way for us program how they interface with a specific biological environment. Our work aims to modify the surface chemistry of naturally-derived polymer materials to program how they interact with their surrounding biological environment.
We use plasma processing to modify the chemistry of naturally-derived polymer materials. Plasma, the fourth state of matter, is a partially-ionized gaseous mixture that is useful for customizing the surface chemistry of solid materials. Plasma processing is used in the manufacturing of multiple commercial products, including widespread use in silicon chip fabrication.
We tune the plasma parameters, including precursor gas, applied power, pressure, and time the material is exposed to the plasma to control how our naturally-derived polymer surfaces are modified. Current projects |
Click on the following questions to find out more about what we are currently working on.
- How do plasma-deposited coatings control enzymatic degradation of silk fibroin?
- What is the relationship between biologically-derived polymer physical properties and stability following plasma treatment?
- How can plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition be applied to commercially-available wound dressing materials for chronic wound therapies?
- Can radio frequency ammonia plasma functionalize the surface of PTFE with primary amine groups?