Squaramide-based supramolecular biomaterials
Roxanne
Kieltyka
Associate
Professor
Supramolecular
and
Biomaterials
Chemistry group
Leiden
Institute
of
Chemistry,
Leiden
University
The
Netherlands
Wednesday,
March
9,
2022
2:30
p.m.
C2-361
(Reading
Room)
Abstract: The application of adaptive materials in areas from biomedicine to electronics has invigorated the development of new supramolecular materials with specific function. Due to the non-covalent interactions that hold them together, these polymers show great potential because of their easy preparation with tailorable compositions, environmental responsiveness, self-healing upon damage, and recyclability. In the biomaterials field, their straightforward processing permits the mixing of monomers functionalized with biomolecules such as peptides, and their responsiveness to different stimuli opens the door to designer materials that can be used to deliver therapeutic payloads or as scaffolds for tissue engineering. In order to realize these end-stage applications, there is a need for structurally simple monomers with high synthetic accessibility that can robustly self-assemble into polymeric architectures in the presence of complex molecular cargo. Squaramides, structurally minimal ditopic hydrogen-bonding units, show tremendous potential in this regard due to their high synthetic accessibility starting from commercially available precursors and capacity to engage in strong non-covalent interactions. In this talk, I will share our exploration of the squaramide synthon as a building block for supramolecular polymers and their introduction in nanoparticles and hydrogel materials for use in drug delivery and 3D cell culture.
Roxanne Kieltyka was born in Toronto, Canada. She carried out her doctoral thesis in the group of Hanadi Sleiman at McGill University on the development of novel platinum-based complexes for the targeting of G-quadruplexes as an anticancer therapy. She then performed postdoctoral work in the group of E.W. Meijer at the Eindhoven University of Technology in Eindhoven, The Netherlands on the synthesis of supramolecular polymers for application in the biomedical field. Roxanne started at Leiden University in 2013 in the Supramolecular and Biomaterials Chemistry group at Leiden University where she now is an associate professor. She was named one of the Talented 12 by C&E News and has recently obtained and ERC Starting Grant.