News

October 16, 2009

Friday, 3:00PM
15 Saint Mary's Street, Rm 105

Cosponsored by CNN

flyer

Dr. Xinqiao Jia
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
University of Delaware

Molecular Design of Functional Biomaterials for Regenerative Medicine

Abstract:

We are interested in developing functional biomaterials that closely mimic the molecular composition, hierarchical organization and biological functions of the natural extracellular matrices for tissue repair and regeneration.  Doubly cross-linked networks (DXNs) based on hyaluronic acid (HA) were synthesized by mixing HA hydrogel particles and a water-soluble HA derivative carrying complementary functional groups.  The resulting matrix exhibit two distinct levels of cross-linking and its viscoelasticity can be readily tuned.  Controlled release of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) was achieved through its anchorage at predetermined locales within HA DXN using covalently immobilized perlecan domain I as the ligand reservoir.  The HA-based, BMP-2 releasing matrices are capable of stimulating chondrogenic differentiation of the cultured mesenchymal stem cells.  In situ encapsulation of prostate cancer cells in HA-based matrices allows for cancer therapeutics to be assessed in a biomimetic, 3D culture platform.  Separately, multiblock hybrid polymers that not only capture the elasticity of native elastin, but also provide flexibility and tunability in a range of morphological and mechanical properties have been synthesized and characterized.  These hybrid polymers were constructed by condensation polymerization via Orthogonal Click Chemistry using flexible synthetic polymers and alanine-rich, lysine-containing peptides as the building blocks.  Subsequent covalent cross-linking of the pre-registered lysin residue led to a strong and elastomeric hydrogels.  Both types of biomaterials are are being evaluated as conducive scaffolds for vocal fold tissue engineering.

Biography:

Xinqiao Jia received her B.S. in Applied Chemistry from Fudan University in China in 1995 and her Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2002. She carried out her postdoctoral training with Professor Robert Langer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology prior to joining the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of Delaware in 2005. She is an affiliated faculty with several centers and institutes at the University of Delaware including the Center for Translation Cancer Research, Delaware Biotechnology Institute, and Graduate Program at the Chemistry/Biology Interface. She received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2006 to develop mechano-responsive biomaterials. Dr. Jia’s current research is focused on the design, synthesis and characterization of biomimetic materials with controlled architectures and functionalities for biomedical applications. Her research activities are currently supported by National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.