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BMEBT Seminar Presentation by Ms. Manisha Jassal

When: Friday, May 1, 2015
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Where: Textiles Building 101E
Description: TOPIC: ELECTROSPUN FIBERS: SMALL SIZE, BIG IMPACT
ABSTRACT:Tissue regeneration relies on building carefully crafted scaffold material in the micron-submicron scale and imparting specific functionality to the scaffold material surface in order to mimic the in vivo environment closely in terms of chemical composition, morphology, and surface functional groups. Fibrous meshes with structural features at the micron-submicron level for ideal 3D tissue regeneration scaffolds can be an inexpensive scale up option. Bio-inert polymers lack the functional motifs for specific bioactivity; however, functionalization of the scaffolds can provide biological functions to actively induce tissue regeneration and promote cell adhesion by targeting specific cell-matrix interactions. It is therefore important to characterize the scaffolds and understand the relationship between the efficacy of the functionalization, the surface properties of the scaffolds, and their biological performance. Another aspect of polymer functionalization is to target controlled drug delivery. Controlled drug delivery is required to improve the therapeutic efficacy of the drug and to reduce the potential toxic effects by delivering the drug at a rate governed by the physiological need of the site of action. Electrospun polymeric fibers have gained wide spread attention as potential drug delivery system because the drug release profile can be controlled by altering scaffold properties as composition, fiber morphology, porosity, surface coating, and form/state of drug molecule. In the current study, poly(caprolactone) (PCL) fibers were fabricated by electrospinning, followed by various treatments to introduce functional groups on the fiber surface. The functionalized electrospun PCL fibers were characterized through scanning electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography and the cellular response was studied for these scaffolds. Also, the functional groups introduced via hydrolysis (-COOH) can be ionized by manipulation of pH to impart a negative charge to the fiber surface. Similarly, doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), an FDA approved anticancer drug, could be ionized to impart a positive charge at certain pH. The pH-sensitivity of both the materials was utilized to bind DOX electrostatically to the functionalized PCL fibers, with an aim to create pH-responsive drug delivery vehicle for targeted site-specific delivery of DOX. Results indicate successful electrostatic binding of DOX to functionalized electrospun PCL fibers, a high drug payload and the drug delivery response can be modulated by introduction of suitable stimuli (pH in this case). Future work would concentrate on a formulation of a composite drug delivery vehicle combining electrospun scaffolds with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels that can release acid near the scaffolds to trigger drug release by changing the pH of the surrounding area.
Contact: BMEBT Seminar Series
Topical Areas: University Community, Biology, College of Engineering