The PhD thesis concerns the development of scaffolds inspired by biology for musculoskeletal tissue engineering. This was accomplished by chemical modification of poly- DLy-glutamic acid (y-PGA) to reduce its water solubility for use in regenerative medicine applications. A series of water-insoluble modified y-PGA polymers were synthesised, yielding materials with varying hydrophilicity and dissolution rates. All polymers were fully characterised using techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry, size-exclusion chromatography, wide-angle x-ray scattering, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and contact angle determination. Following characterisation, esterified y-PGA polymers were oriented to different degrees above their glass transition temperatures using tensile deformation. This drawing induced crystallisation, and thus orientation, on a molecular scale, leading to increased mechanical properties that were calculated from tensile tests. Synthesised polymers were found to be non-cytotoxic using the pre-clinical ISO 10993:5 test, and supported human fibroblast cell growth, as determined by LIVE/DEAD® staining. Oriented, modified y-PGA polymers were produced with a wide range of mechanical properties, displaying tailorability for specific tissue engineering applications.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:579109 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | May, Jessica Rose |
| Contributors | Stevens, Molly |
| Publisher | Imperial College London |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/11755 |
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