Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Biomaterials: From Scaffold Design To Implant Optimization, Jennifer Marie Armen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work encompasses three individual projects concerning biomaterials and their modifications. Chemically-Induced Cross-Linking of Peptidic Fibrils for Scaffolding Polymeric Particles and Macrophages EAK16-II (EAK) is a self-assembling peptide (SAP) that forms β-sheets and βfibrils through ionic-complementary interactions at physiological ionic strengths. The soft materials can be injected in vivo, creating depots of drugs and cells for rendering pharmacological and biological actions. The scope of the applications of EAK is sought to extend to tissues through which the flow of extracellular fluid tends to be limited. In such anatomical locales the rate and extent of the fibrilization are limited insofar as …