Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Thermogel applications of PolySciTech products

PolySciTech division of Akina, Inc. (www.polyscitech.com) provides a wide variety of biodegradable polymers some of which exhibit reverse thermal gelation. This process occurs for polymers that have a mixture of hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions. In cold conditions, the water molecules preferentially affiliate with the hydrophilic portions of the polymer and the material dissolves into micelles. At higher temperatures, the water molecules transition to a free state and the polymer micelles form bridges between each other to form a gel held together by weak hydrophobic interactions (e.g. London dispersion forces).  There are many practical applications for these materials. Here’s a few, recently published applications of note:

Prostate cancer treatment/vaccine adjuvant: Auburn University researchers utilized PolyVivo AK097 (PLGA-PEG-PLGA) as a delivery agent for vaccines against the sex hormone GnRH. Such a system holds promise for both fertility control as well as prostate cancer treatment. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168165615301498)

Gel-Printing: Collaborators at Purdue University and KITECH utilized PolyVivo AO023 (PNIPAM-co-AM) as a gel printing system in which an inkjet-printer was modified so as to print the cold polymer solution onto a warmed surface. This system holds promise for controlled printing of living cells or tissues. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0017931015310565)

Wound disinfection: Researchers at the University of Toronto utilized PolyVivo AO031 (PNVCL) as a carrier of gold nanorods into an infected wound model. By applying a carefully defined laser to the system, they were able to rapidly raise the temperature of the wound surface without increasing temperature underneath allowing for extremely precise, localized heating. This system kills bacteria regardless of antibiotic resistance. This system holds promise for treatment of MRSA or other localized infections where conventional antibiotics are ineffective. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142961216301144)

These are just a few examples. For all PST research products, you can see research articles and other literature regarding their usage at our site here https://akinainc.com/polyscitech/products/polyvivo/referenced_by.php

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