Scientists develop multifunctional biocompatible polymer

Three University of Akron scientists have developed an easily adaptable biocompatible polymer structure able to fight infection, filter water, and perform other functions.

University of Akron's Darrell Reneker, professor of polymer science; Matthew Becker, associate professor of polymer science; and Jukuan Zheng, a graduate student, developed a “one-size-fits-all” polymer system that can easily be fabricated and then specialized to perform a desired function. The research, “Post-Assembly Derivatization of Electrospun Nanofibers via Strain-Promoted Azide Alkyne Cycloaddition,” was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The polymer’s structure is an electrospun polymer fiber mat, in which bioactive molecules can be attached without compromising their biological functions. This allows a range of possible applications, since an unlimited number of biologic molecule types can be attached to the surface of the system, from antibiotics to fracture-healing vitamins.

"There have been many types of polymers used in biomaterials, but the challenge with that has been, every time you make a new product it requires a new process," Becker explains. "This chemistry will be very useful in that you can manufacture many different implant products that contain the same kind of sites for attachment and put any of a wide variety of bioactive substances on the same kind of attachment site."

Jukuan Zheng, Kaiyi Liu, Darrell H. Reneker, Matthew L. Becker. Post-Assembly Derivatization of Electrospun Nanofibers via Strain-Promoted Azide Alkyne Cycloaddition. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2012; 134 (41): 17274 DOI: Nike Benassi Slide