Polymer Institute
Topic
Polymers based on poly(2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline) for the modification of implantable materials
PhD. program
Physical chemistry (macromolecular chemistry), Technology of polymer materials
Year of admission
2024
Name of the supervisor
Mgr. Juraj Kronek, PhD.
Contact:
Receiving school
Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology STU
Annotation
Poly(2-oxazolines) belong to biomedical polymers with application potential in controlled drug and gene delivery and release, tissue engineering, hydrogel technologies, and immune protection of implantable materials. Poly(2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline) (PIPOx) exhibits excellent tolerance in living systems but provides also possibility of direct functionalization and conjugation with various bioactive substances (drugs, nucleic acids, proteins, hormones, growth factors and others). In the proposed work, this type of polymers will be used for surface modification of implantable materials such as (bio)sensors, cardiovascular stents, catheters, or polymer microcapsules. Proposed work will include synthesis of PIPOx using methods of controlled radical polymerizations (known also as reversible deactivation radical polymerizations), introduction of double bonds and amino groups into polymer structure, surface modifications with PIPOx and phisico-chemical characterization of prepared materials. Attention will be paid also to study of cytotoxicity of prepared polymers and cultivation of selected cell models on the surface and in the structure of polymer hydrogels.