Project Info

Biodegradable Nanofiber Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Stephen Boyes | sboyes@mines.edu

Scaffolds play a pivotal role in the process of regenerating tissues in 3D. Recently there has been increasing interest in the use of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering to improve clinical therapy for patients suffering serious fractures or defects. Biodegradable synthetic polymers are the most widely used scaffolding materials. However, synthetic polymers lack the biological cues found in the natural extracellular matrix. In this project, block copolymers providing biodegradability, biocompatibility, and functional groups for attachment of peptides, growth factors, and drugs will be prepared. These block copolymers will be formed into nanofibrous scaffolds using electrospinning or thermally-induced phase separation techniques. Finally, the mechanical properties of the nanofibrous scaffolds will be investigated. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a new biomimetic scaffold for bone tissue engineering for testing in animal models at the Children’s Hospital Colorado.

More Information

“Zhu, L., Smith, P.P, Boyes, S.G. pH-Responsive Polymers for Imaging Acidic Biological Environments in Tumors J. Poly. Sci. Part B: Poly. Phys. 2013, 51, 1062 – 1067.
Smith, P.P., Rightler, A., McConnell, B.K., Zhang, F., Streubel, S.O., Lu, S.-L., Price, D., Boyes, S.G. Novel biodegradable, biocompatible and biofunctional block copolymer prepared by a combination of ring opening and RAFT polymerization submitted to J. Polym. Sci. Part A: Polym. Chem.”

Grand Engineering: Engineer better medicines