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Our research focuses on the tailoring and engineering of biopolymeric-based biomaterials for fundamental studies and applications in therapeutics and tissue repair. Specific topics of interest include: cell-material interactions, growth factor/peptide delivery, tissue regeneration, and extracellular matrix mimetic materials. Our laboratory has extensive experience with multiple techniques for generating polymeric biomaterials such as polyelectrolyte multilayers via layer-by-layer assembly, nanofibers via electrospinning, and nanoparticles via polyelectrolyte complexation. A wide array of techniques are employed to characterize these biomaterials including: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), infrared variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (IR-VASE), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal microscopy, and atomic force spectroscopy (AFM). Our laboratory also has extensive expertise in cell-culture techniques using both primary cells and immortalized cell lines. |