| Description |
Microgels represent crosslinked soft hydrophilic hydrogel microparticles with a size ranging from hundreds of nanometers to several micrometers. They can be fabricated from a wide range of synthetic monomers or natural and synthetic polymers. Due to their unique properties, microgels are recently very attractive for tissue engineering, delivery systems, and encapsulation because they can host various cargoes including drugs, proteins, nucleic acids, and cells. Within this PhD project, the hydrophilic microgels will be prepared from synthetic polypeptides, and polysaccharides including hyaluronic acid and kefiran in inverse suspension by horseradish peroxidase/H2O2-mediated crosslinking, UV gelation, and cryogelation. The effect of surfactant type and concentration, polymer precursor concentration, and microgelation conditions on final microgel size and size distribution will be studied. Finally, the developed microgels will be applied for the loading and release of bioactive compounds and drugs and their bioactivity will be tested. |
