In one of the new hydrogel inventions from his lab, Chu combined dextran and maleic acid to develop one type of hydrogel that can increase its swelling without lessening its structural stability and mechanical strength. Chu has engineered two much stronger and versatile hydrogels - both have patents pending - by chemically combining synthetic biodegradable polymers like polylactide and dextran, a polymer of sucrose commonly produced in fermentation, and carbohydrates called polysaccharides. They are commonly used as food-thickening agents, coatings for textiles and contact lenses, wound dressings and for delivering medications. Jellylike hydrogels, non-biodegradable polymers like polyacrylates, can absorb and retain many times their weight without dissolving.
They might even be used for coating fabrics, such as diapers, to absorb liquid, says Chu, whose research on the biodegradable hydrogels will appear in coming months in two scientific journals. The hydrogels not only are useful for controlling and delivering medications and serving as biodegradable networks for implants, tissue engineering and regeneration but also may have applications for coatings in agricultural products. Strength and biodegradation rates also can be changed over a wide range. Their hydrophilicity (the ability to attract and absorb water) and their hydrophobicity (the ability to repel water) are the chief means by which they control drug release. Chu and his graduate students can manipulate various properties of the hydrogels, including how much they swell.
Chu, professor of fiber science in the textiles and apparel department in Cornell's College of Human Ecology and the university's Biomedical Engineering Program. "These new biomaterials not only contain enormous amounts of water, which make them more biocompatible with the human body, but also have greater mechanical strengths, integrity and stability than other hydrogels," says C. The jellylike substance can be used for anchoring biological substances such as skin and vascular tissues and might even be able to deliver viruses into the body for gene therapy. A Cornell fiber and biomaterials scientist working with a trio of graduate students has developed novel biodegradable and biologically active hydrogels that can be used for delivering many kinds of medications inside and outside the body.
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