(14am) Triggerable Tough Hydrogels for Gastrointestinal Biomedical Applications

My research interests mainly include polymer, biomaterials, nanomaterials, biomedical devices, drug delivery and nanomedicines. In this presentation I will focus on the gastrointestinal biomedical applications of hydrogels.

The introduction of gastric-resident dosage forms has demonstrated significant promise for enhanced drug therapy in humans. However, the lack of precise control over the gastric-retention time remains an important challenge for clinical adoption of these dosage forms. Here we report the development of novel triggerable tough hydrogels (TTHs) that not only show exceptional toughness to overcome gastric pressures achieving long-term residence in stomach but also exhibit remarkable triggerability to be dissolved rapidly with biocompatible agents when required. We demonstrate a proof of concept extended drug delivery from TTHs in a large animal model. Given the dramatic mechanical properties and capable of on-demand dissolution of TTHs we anticipate their implementation in a broad of gastrointestinal biomedical applications.

Teaching Interests:

I have teaching experiences in general material science and chemistry. I would like to design two new courses: a biomaterials course and a nanomaterials course. Both of them can be offered to graduate students or senior undergraduate students.