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Nate's Project Page |
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Intern: Nate Freund, UCSB
Mentor: Enrico Bellomo, Andy Nowak
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Tim Deming
Department: Materials |
THERMAL RESPONSIVE POLYMERS / POLYPEPTIDE BASED NANOCOMPOSITES
Thermal responsive materials have shown promise in a number of engineering and medical applications. When using such materials in biological environments temperature dependency is directly related to functionality. The goal of this research is to modify the side groups of Poly(ƒ×-benzyl-L-glutamate) as temperature controlled physical properties of biomaterials is a popular area of interest. The unique characteristic that is sought after is Lower Critical Solution Temperature. By controlling the amount of hydrophobicity (by addition of primary amines) that exists in concert with the remaining deprotected hydrophilic side chains, an LCST transition between room and body temperature can be achieved. For future applications, this would allow for a new and unique way to transport intravenously solid phase materials to the body while the material remains liquid until contact with body temperature.
The second project this summer is a collaborative effort where we are studying polypeptide-based nanocomposites via solution-intercalating film casting technique. This technique involves the addition of polypeptides as reinforcements in between layers of clay montmorillonite that are used as the foundation for this type of nanocomposite. By adding poly(L-lysine) the nanocomposite gained increased storage modulus and mechanical strength. Adding polypeptides of different conformation and composition should give the nanocomposites new and exciting properties from what was already discovered. The primary focus is to synthesize copolymers and block copolymers of lysine/leucine, lysine/valine, L/D-lysine as well as others to see what effects secondary structure has on the properties of polypeptide/clay nanocomposites. Such polypeptide-based nanocomposites have potential commercial value and biomedical applications such as sutures, drug delivery matrices, load bearing implants, and other replacement biomaterials within the body.
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