Functional Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications

Built upon efficient synthetic methods and biomimetic concepts, we further design new biomaterials for biomedical applications. To combine the advantages from both natural and synthetic systems, namely, the biocompatibility and biodegradability from natural components and the versatility from synthetic chemistry, we are exploring new strategies to design novel biomaterials from renewable natural building blocks. For example, using the most abundant natural monomers such as saccharides and amino acids, we have developed a family of saccharide-peptide hybrid copolymers that are biodegradable, non-toxic, non-immunogenic, and highly functional.

The combination of synthetic versatility, rich functionality, and inherent safe features makes this class of new biomaterials potentially useful for many biomedical applications. Currently, we are pursuing two directions of biomedical studies with our new biomaterials. In one study, we are developing stimuli-responsive nanogels as vectors for efficient delivery of small interference RNA (siRNA). In another investigation, we are designing saccharide-peptide based hydrogels as biomimetic extracellular matrices (ECMs) for stem cell studies. Capitalizing the versatility and rich functionality of our biomaterials, we are programming chemical, physical, and biological information into our hydrogels to control stem cell fate. The ultimate goal for this project is to develop safe and functional synthetic scaffolds for tissue regeneration.