The Chemical Engineering Department is hosting a special graduate lecture on Polymeric Applications of Waste Mussel Shell.
Photopolymerization reactions have been explored and utilized since the time of the ancient Egyptians; however, development of new photopolymerization methodologies and applications continues at an ever more rapid pace. Traditionally, photopolymerization of multifunctional monomers results in highly crosslinked materials suitable for applications as optical lenses, optical fiber coatings, and dental materials. These reactions are ubiquitous not only because of the nature of the final polymer product, but also for the characteristics of the reaction itself. Photopolymerizations are far more energy efficient than their thermal counterparts, are typically performed in a solventless manner that is more environmentally compatible, the reactions occur rapidly at ambient conditions, and the polymerization can be controlled in both time and space.
The Chemical Engineering Department is hosting a special graduate seminar on Environmental Sustainability Challenges in Canadian Healthcare.
The Chemical Engineering Department is hosting a special graduate seminar on Materials and interfaces for the next generation batteries.
Abstract :
Humanity faces multiple converging crises such as pandemics, climate change, ecosystem degradation, and environmental pressures from rising global prosperity. We urgently need transformative solutions. At the same time, the past three decades have also witnessed sterling advances in genomics, synthetic biology, and computation, which have re-cast living systems as programmable platforms for innovation. Biology has now matured into a form of infrastructure - an enabling layer upon which solutions to health, the energy transition, material de-fossilization and the circular economy can be built.
Just as physical infrastructure underpinned the industrial age and digital infrastructure drives the current information age, biological infrastructure now offers the foundation for a sustainable one. Engineered biological systems can facilitate a more rapid response to emerging threats, enable sustainable resource recovery, as well as upcycle waste into high-value products. In this sense, biology is no longer confined to the laboratory; it is becoming the scaffolding of a new industrial paradigm where living and designed systems work in concert to sustain civilization.
Bioinks for bioprinting and injectable biomaterials share a common thread in fluid mechanics (rheology) in that the flow properties of the material are crucial to successful application. Beyond shear-thinning behavior, properties including yield stress and storage modulus recovery are important, and speak to the ‘paste-like’ quality of the material. Two applications in regenerative medicine will be highlighted: traumatic brain injury and cartilage injury.
In severe traumatic brain injuries, often a portion of the skull is surgically removed to relieve pressure from the brain swelling, but a 2nd surgery is required to fill that gap in the skull. We have proposed a paste-like biomaterial that could potentially eliminate the 2nd surgery.
Our goal is to implant the biomaterial at the time of the original surgery,to be crosslinked to stay in place, flexible to allow the brain to swell, deliver anti-inflammatory drugs locally to the brain, and then transition into bone over time. Initial studies with bone regeneration and drug delivery have shown promise.