Discipline: Chemistry and Chemical Sciences
Subcategory: Materials Science
Zoe Vaughn - University at Buffalo
Co-Author(s): Chris Heimburger, Austin Quinn, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Chronic wound care has been gaining momentum due to drug delivery with the use of growth factors. Proteins such as Keratinocyte Growth Factor, KGF, leads to wound healing in the epithelial cells and KGF has proven to promote wound closure. Hydrogels, water swollen structures composed mainly of hydrophilic homopolymers or copolymers, serve as a vehicle that delivers the desired substance into the exact location needed for wound healing. Hydrogels aqueous nature allows the material to accommodate various therapeutic factors. 2-Hydroxythyl Methacrylate, HEMA, hydrogel is used because of its ability to achieve different characteristics without much change to the polymer. Through swelling of HEMA and perfluoropolyether, PFPE, the barrier layer, it was proven that HEMA holds up to 60% water by weight. Through the study it shows that HEMA is an optimal hydrogel to use when up taking a protein. Also HEMA, has the ability to uptake KGF, proven through the results of the controlled release study. Knowledge that KGF is up taken was further proved by fluorescence and TOF SIMS. Uptake and release studies conducted on Green Fluorescence Protein, GFP, a reporter gene, proved that HEMA can uptake protein.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): LSAMP (NSF)
Faculty Advisor: Joseph Gardella, gardella@buffalo.edu
Role: I have done every piece of the research from the creation of the HEMA hydrogel to the various studies associated with the project. The studies I conducted included a swelling study, uptake and release studies, FT-IR studies. I preformed the uptake and release study with Green Florescence Protein, after completing that study my colleague was able to preform uptake and release studies on the more expensive protein, keratin growth factor. Once we were able to determine KGF was successfully uptaken into the hydrogel we sent the hydrogel's to our collaborated to perform studies on pig skin to see the efficacy of our hydrogrols. After these pig studies were conducted I conducted another release study to determine how much protein was left on the hydrogel after the treatment to the pigs skin.