Archive for the ‘Meet the authors’ Category

Insight from the authors of ‘Poly(L-glutamic acid) augments the transfection performance of lipophilic polycations by overcoming tradeoffs among cytotoxicity, pDNA delivery efficiency, and serum stability.’

 

To celebrate the growth and development of the RSC Applied Polymers community and to highlight the remarkable authors who continue to contribute their high quality work to the journal we would like to share the opinions and insights of these authors through this introductory blog post. Once dubbed #RSCAppliedfirst50, our blog posts aim to give a voice to the authors behind the research and hope that their insights might shed light upon growing challenges and progress in polymer science and its applications.

In this edition, we hear from Ramya Kumar in a short interview about their study entitled ‘Poly(L-glutamic acid) augments the transfection performance of lipophilic polycations by overcoming tradeoffs among cytotoxicity, pDNA delivery efficiency, and serum stability.’


Insight from the authors of ‘Poly(L-glutamic acid) augments the transfection performance of lipophilic polycations by overcoming tradeoffs among cytotoxicity, pDNA delivery efficiency, and serum stability.’

 

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

In just the last four years, we have witnessed several breakthroughs in how cell- and gene-based therapeutics can save lives. These lifesaving treatments are currently restricted to a privileged cohort residing predominantly in wealthy Western countries. Synthetic materials, such as polymers, can broaden access to these treatments so that more people can afford to benefit from them. We are living in an exciting period where synthetic polymer chemistry, machine learning tools, and next-gen biologics are evolving in tandem. We have the unprecedented opportunity to leverage these advances to democratize access to these technologies. Even if the materials we study in the lab don’t end up succeeding in a clinical setting, the training we pass on to the next generation of scientists is invaluable in solving similar problems in related research domains.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in your field of research?

  1. Are polymer design rules conserved across diverse genome editor payloads? Protein engineers are innovating more powerful and sophisticated genome editor proteins at a rapid pace. It’s important that polymers keep up with this rapidly evolving landscape. We don’t yet know if the same polymer will be universally efficacious in delivering all genome editors.
  2. What are the molecular design principles driving cell-type-preferential nucleic acid delivery? Polymers must deliver nucleic acids to target cells while avoiding off-target cells. Unlike lipid nanoparticles, where ligand-free nanocarriers are being engineered through rational protein corona design, molecular principles governing polymer-mediated gene delivery across cell types remain elusive.
  3. How can we design polymeric cell culture substrates that help us model important cellular transformations such as stem cell self-renewal and macrophage activation?Current experimental models for interrogating these cellular processes are limited in the questions they can ask and often fail to draw robust conclusions. Cell culture substrates functionalized with bioinstructive polymer coatings can catalyze cellular transformations and answer fundamental cell biology questions.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

In both of my research thrusts (bioinstructive polymer coatings and polymers for nucleic acid delivery), subtle alterations to polymer composition and molecular design can have dramatic effects on their biological performance. Some of these experimental outcomes cannot be predicted using current heuristics and structure-function relationships. Explaining why some polymers perform well in a given biomaterial application while others falter has always been challenging. Developing tools (e.g., high-throughput proteomics, machine learning models) to better understand and predict these counterintuitive results is going to take time, but I am excited about the potential of these predictive tools.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

I just attended ACS Denver and will be co-organizing the Society for Biomaterials Western Conference in Denver this September.

Where do you see your own research going in the future?

Currently, my lab applies polymer synthesis, biointerfacial characterization, and machine learning to lower economic, manufacturing, and logistical barriers confronted by cellular and macromolecular therapeutics. I always hope to work at the interface of polymers and biology. In the long term, it would be exciting to apply personalized and precision medicine approaches to polymeric biomaterial design so that we can create bespoke polymers that adapt to individual patients’ immune systems. It would also be interesting to integrate polymer chemistry tools with multi-omics datasets to engineer patient-specific nanocarriers.

Summary of ‘Poly(L-glutamic acid) augments the transfection performance of lipophilic polycations by overcoming tradeoffs among cytotoxicity, pDNA delivery efficiency, and serum stability.’

Polycations are promising nanocarriers for delivering therapeutic nucleic acids due to their scalability and affordability, but efficient polycationic vehicles often exhibit high cytotoxicity and poor serum stability, hindering clinical translation. The study investigates the use of poly(L-glutamic acid) (PGA) as a surface modifier to improve the performance of lipophilic polycations in plasmid DNA (pDNA) delivery, aiming to resolve the trade-offs between nucleic acid delivery efficiency, cytotoxicity, and serum stability. The sequence of addition of polycations, pDNA, and PGA is critical, with PGA needing to be added last to avoid disrupting polycation-mediated pDNA condensation. Techniques like circular dichroism spectroscopy, PicoGreen dye exclusion assays, and confocal microscopy were used to analyze polyplex properties and performance. Key findings include that PGA significantly reduces the cytotoxicity of lipophilic polycations, tripling the population of transfected viable cells, and improves serum tolerance, preventing aggregation and maintaining pDNA delivery efficiency in serum-containing media. Despite lower cellular uptake, PGA-coated polyplexes are imported into nuclei at higher rates, enhancing transgene expression, and PGA silences the hemolytic activity of lipophilic polycations, protecting red blood cells from lysis. The study provides insights into how polyanionic coatings like PGA can transform the interactions between polycations, nucleic acids, and serum proteins, facilitating efficient and gentle transgene delivery, and suggests further research could explore the interactions of polyplexes with other blood components and the potential for receptor-mediated uptake. This work highlights the potential of PGA as a surface modifier to enhance the safety and efficacy of polycation-based gene delivery systems, offering a promising strategy for clinical applications.


 

Ram Prasad Sekar

Ram Prasad Sekar

 

Ram Prasad Sekar Ram received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Madras Medical College in Chennai, India, where he worked on the synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles for drug delivery applications. He completed his Ph.D. degree at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) (2014-2020) under the supervision of Prof. A. Jayakrishnan and Prof. T. S. Sampath Kumar. His doctoral thesis mainly focused on combinational delivery of anticancer drugs, developing bone void substitutes, and multidrug encapsulated ceramic/polymer grafted nanoparticles for bone cancer therapy. He also had a brief career in the pharmaceutical sector, successfully transferring lab-scale drug formulations to pilot-scale production. He recently completed a research associate position at the Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology (RGCB) in India, where he worked on polymer drug conjugates for brain-targeted drug delivery. Ram is passionate about developing novel therapeutic systems for complex diseases, as well as nanoformulations, materials characterization, and biomaterials. Aside from academic research, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling to new places, cooking new dishes in his own unique style, and reading fiction books.

 

 

 

Jessica Lawson

Jessica Lawson

 

Jessica Lawson Jessica received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Materials Science and Engineering in Spring 2022. There, she performed undergraduate research in designing polymers for 3D printing using frontal polymerization (at Prof. Nancy Sottos’ lab). She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Materials Science, focusing on developing self-assembled polymer systems for biomaterial applications. Her research interests are primarily in polymer synthesis and characterization. Some of her interests outside of research include cooking, baking, and playing soccer and volleyball with friends. Jessica was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ramya Kumar

Ramya Kumar

 

Ramya Kumar Ramya obtained her B.E. (Hons.) in chemical engineering from BITS Pilani, India, and her PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. At Michigan, she received a Rackham Predoctoral fellowship, the Procter & Gamble Team Innovation award, and the Richard & Eleanor Towner Prize for creative and innovative teaching. Ramya is also an ACS PMSE Future Faculty awardee. Ramya completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. In January 2022, Ramya began her independent career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. Her lab applies controlled radical polymerization, surface-initiated polymerization, and statistical modeling to engineer polymeric nanocarriers for nucleic acid delivery and polymer coatings that direct and interrogate cell behavior. In August 2023, she was awarded an NIH R21 to develop polymer coatings for mesenchymal stem cell engineering. She has authored 17 publications (in journals such as ACS Nano, JACS Au, Macromolecules, ACS AMI, ACS Macro Letters) and 3 patents. She is a member of the American Chemical Society, AICHE, and the Society for Biomaterials. Outside work, Ramya enjoys long-distance running, writing for Substack, baking naturally fermented bread, and reading literary fiction.

 

 

 

 


 

Poly(L-glutamic acid) augments the transfection performance of lipophilic polycations by overcoming tradeoffs among cytotoxicity, pDNA delivery efficiency, and serum stability.’

RSC Appl. Polym., 2024,2, 701-718. DOI: 10.1039/D4LP00085D

Graphical abstract: Poly(l-glutamic acid) augments the transfection performance of lipophilic polycations by overcoming tradeoffs among cytotoxicity, pDNA delivery efficiency, and serum stability

 


 

 

 

RSC Applied Polymers is a leading international journal for the application of polymers, including experimental and computational studies on both natural and synthetic systems. In this journal, you can discover cross-disciplinary scientific research that leverages polymeric materials in a range of applications. This includes high impact advances made possible with polymers across materials, biology, energy applications and beyond.

 

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Meet the authors of ‘Inherent limitations of the hydrogen-bonding UPy motif as self-healing functionality for polymer electrolytes’

To celebrate the growth and development of the RSC Applied Polymers community and to highlight the remarkable authors who continue to contribute their high quality work to the journal we would like to share the opinions and insights of these authors through this introductory blog post. Once dubbed #RSCAppliedfirst50, our blog posts aim to give a voice to the authors behind the research and hope that their insights might shed light upon growing challenges and progress in polymer science and its applications.
In this post we feature an introduction to ”Inherent limitations of the hydrogen-bonding UPy motif as self-healing functionality for polymer electrolytes’ by Cuc Thu Mai, Harish Gudla, Guiomar Hernández, Kristina Edström and Jonas Mindemark.

 


 

An Introduction to ‘Inherent limitations of the hydrogen-bonding UPy motif as self-healing functionality for polymer electrolytes‘  by Cuc Thu Mai, Harish Gudla, Guiomar Hernández, Kristina Edström and Jonas Mindemark.

 

In our latest publication in RSC Applied Polymers, we explore the combined effects of self-healing ureido pyrimidinone (UPy) groups and electrolyte salts on the mechanical properties of polymer electrolytes. Self-healing properties are well-known for materials from the biomedical field, but are highly desirable also for next-generation electrolyte materials for energy storage applications. This is, for example, highlighted in the roadmap of the European project Battery2030+, where the integration of smart functionalities such as sensing and self-healing can enhance the safety and lifetime of rechargeable batteries.
The inclusion of hydrogen-bonding UPy groups is known to be an effective means of introducing dynamically cross-linking and self-healing capabilities in polymer materials. However, it is perhaps not so straightforward to realize such functions in a battery environment, which is fundamentally different from a biological one. Indeed, in the paper we demonstrate that the addition of electrolyte salt causes the hydrogen-bonding network to be disrupted by interactions with the ions, thereby canceling out the effect of the UPy groups on the mechanical properties of the material. Unfortunately, this renders the material mechanically unsuitable for use as a solid polymer electrolyte. One important question emanating from this work is whether this is specific for the UPy group or if it applies also to other hydrogen-bonding self-healing groups. It may well be so that hydrogen-bonding groups are inherently unreliable at high salt concentrations, motivating work into other means of introducing self-healing functionality instead, such a dynamic covalent bonds.

 


 

Cuc Thu Mai

Cuc Thu Mai

Cuc Thu Mai is currently a battery material scientist at NOVO Energy AB in Sweden. Her work focuses on the development of advanced polymeric materials used as binders, separators and coatings on electrodes to allow longer usage time and faster charging batteries for EVs.

Harish Gudla

Harish Gudla

Harish Gudla is a postdoctoral researcher at the Ångström Advanced Battery Centre at Uppsala University. His primary research focus lies in multi-scale modeling of polymer electrolyte materials for Li-ion batteries.

Guiomar Hernández

Guiomar Hernández

Guiomar Hernández is an assistant professor at the Ångström Advanced Battery Centre at Uppsala University. Her research is focused on fluorine-free electrolytes, solid polymer electrolytes and functional polymers towards safer and more sustainable next-generation batteries.

Kristina Edström

Kristina Edström

Kristina Edström is a professor at the Ångström Advanced Battery Centre at Uppsala University. Her research focuses on self-healing aspects and the SEI/CEI interfaces in lithium and sodium batteries and on solid state batteries.

Jonas Mindemark

Jonas Mindemark

Jonas Mindemark is an associate professor at the Ångström Advanced Battery Centre at Uppsala University. With a background in polymer chemistry, his research focus is now on the development and fundamental understanding of next-generation solid and liquid electrolytes.

 

 

 


RSC Appl. Polym., 2024,2, 374-383

 

Graphical abstract: Inherent limitations of the hydrogen-bonding UPy motif as self-healing functionality for polymer electrolytes

 


RSC Applied Polymers is a leading international journal for the application of polymers, including experimental and computational studies on both natural and synthetic systems. In this journal, you can discover cross-disciplinary scientific research that leverages polymeric materials in a range of applications. This includes high impact advances made possible with polymers across materials, biology, energy applications and beyond.

Meet the Authors – ‘3D printed modular piezoionic sensors using dynamic covalent bonds’

RSC Applied Polymers has published its first articles. To celebrate this we wish to introduce some of our #RSCAppliedfirst50 authors and their recently published articles.

 

In this post we feature an introduction to 3D printed modular piezoionic sensors using dynamic covalent bonds by Alshakim Nelson et al.

 


 

An Introduction to 3D printed modular piezoionic sensors using dynamic covalent bonds  by Alshakim Nelson et al.

In our newest publication in RSC Applied Polymers, we demonstrate 3D printed piezoionic sensors that can be configured based on the needs of the individual user. Elastomeric ionogels comprising reversible Diels-Alder connections were 3D printed using a commercial printer. 3D printing allows the user to determine the geometrical shape of the printed object. However, the 3D printed objects described in this paper are also covalent adaptive networks, which enables self-healing and interfacial bonding between objects. As a result, these piezoionic sensors are durable and can be fused into any desirable configuration. Our work showcases the important features of decentralized production using additive manufacturing. Primarily, the individual user has greater control over the design and deployment of active devices in the locations where they are required.

 


Julian Smith Jones

Julian Smith Jones

 

Julian Smith-Jones received his PhD from the University of Washington where he conducted research on the synthesis and characterization of ionic liquid gels as a platform for creating conductive elastomeric sensors in the Nelson lab. He is currently working as a polymer chemist at Meta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nathan Ballinger

Nathan Ballinger

 

 

Nathan Ballinger is a chemistry graduate student at Caltech who did undergraduate research at the University of Washington in Seattle. His undergraduate research in the Nelson Lab focused on stimuli responsive ion-gels and hydro-gels for additive manufacturing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Naroa Sadaba

Naroa Sadaba

 

 

Naroa Sadaba is a postdoctoral researcher in the Nelson lab at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her research focuses on biomaterials for additive manufacturing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Xabier Lopez de Pariza

Xabier Lopez de Pariza

 

 

 

 

Xabier Lopez de Pariza is a postdoctoral researcher at Polymat-University of the Basque Country in San Sebastian (Spain). His research interests include sustainable polymers and vat photopolymerization.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yunxin Yao

Yunxin Yao

 

 

 

 

Yunxin Yao is a fourth-year graduate student in the Department of Chemistry at Duke University under the guidance of Prof. Stephen L. Craig. Her research primarily focuses on investigating the correlation between microscopic chemical reactions and the macroscopic mechanical properties of polymer networks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steven Craig

Steven Craig

 

 

 

 

Stephen Craig is a Professor of Chemistry at Duke University and the Director of the NSF Center for Molecularly Optimized Networks (MONET).  His research interests are centered around chemical reactivity that is embedded within polymeric materials.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haritz Sardon

Haritz Sardon

 

 

Haritz Sardon is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Basque Country-POLYMAT in San Sebastian. His research combines sustainability aspects with additive manufacturing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alshakim Nelson

Alshakim Nelson

 

 

Alshakim Nelson is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle. His research includes stimuli-responsive and polymeric materials for additive manufacturing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


3D printed modular piezoionic sensors using dynamic covalent bonds

RSC Appl. Polym., 2024, Advance Article. DOI:10.1039/D3LP00289F

 


RSC Applied Polymers is a leading international journal for the application of polymers, including experimental and computational studies on both natural and synthetic systems. In this journal, you can discover cross-disciplinary scientific research that leverages polymeric materials in a range of applications. This includes high impact advances made possible with polymers across materials, biology, energy applications and beyond.

Meet the authors – ‘Assessing the performance of sustainable luminescent solar concentrators based on chemically recycled poly(methyl methacrylate)’

RSC Applied Polymers has published its first articles. To celebrate this we wish to introduce some of our #RSCAppliedfirst50 authors and their recently published articles.

 

In this post we feature an introduction to Assessing the performance of sustainable luminescent solar concentrators based on chemically recycled poly(methyl methacrylate) by Alberto Picchi, Marco Carlotti, Andrea Pucci et al.

 


 

An Introduction to Assessing the performance of sustainable luminescent solar concentrators based on chemically recycled poly(methyl methacrylate) by Alberto Picchi, Marco Carlotti, Andrea Pucci et al.

 

Sunlight concentration is one of the most straightforward means to improve the performances of photovoltaics and reduce the extension of the modules needed to produce a certain quantity of energy.

Compared to large parabolic systems that find applications in solar fields, other solar concentration methods are better suited for urban areas, such as Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSCs). Visually, LSCs resemble glass panels with bright fluorescent colours and luminescent sides. They utilize fluorescent molecules or particles to absorb and re-emit solar radiation, concentrating it towards the device’s edges thanks to an optical phenomenon called total internal reflection. There, thin photovoltaic cells, as vast as the small thickness of the panel, convert this light into electricity.

Amorphous polymers like polycarbonates or polyacrylates, known to serve as excellent substitutes for glass due to their high transparency and mechanical strength, are also ideal matrices for application in LSCs. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), in particular, offers additional advantages such as low cost, an optimal refractive index to waveguide light, and the possibility of hosting several luminescent materials without affecting their optical performances.

The large-scale adoption of this technology – which in urban areas and as visually appealing build-in photovoltaics in buildings – would cause the introduction in the market of a significant amount of plastic, the environmental production impact of which cannot be overlooked, especially since it is higher than that of the attached photovoltaics modules.

One advantage of PMMA is that it can be recycled through thermal depolymerization processes, which regenerate the initial monomer (methyl methacrylate, MMA) with high efficiency and little impurities.

The use of regenerated MMA, instead of virgin monomer, for the production of Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSCs) could reduce the impact of production by about 75% and make it possible to imagine a circular life cycle of these devices without increasing costs. However, impurities can drastically affect the performances and lifetime of the devices, making this approach ineffective.

In this study, Alberto Picchi, Marco Carlotti and Andrea Pucci from the Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry at the University of Pisa, in collaboration with I&S Srl, explored the possibility of using recycled monomers instead of virgin ones to fabricate LSC plates, making this technology more accessible and sustainable. In particular, they found that, while characteristic impurities or regenerated monomers do not seem to affect performances, they promote the photodegradation process, shortening the devices’ expected lifespan. During the investigation, they also identified the main substance responsible for this effect, which will need to be removed from the recycled monomer to fabricate devices capable of spanning more than 10 years.


 

 

 

Alberto Picchi

Alberto Picchi

 

 

Mr. Alberto Picchi is a Ph.D. student in Chemistry and Materials Science at the University of Pisa (Italy). He obtained his MChem (2019) from the same institution. Alberto’s research focuses on developing luminescent devices based on recycled polymers for harvesting solar and artificial light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Carlotti

Marco Carlotti

 

 

Dr Marco Carlotti obtained his PhD from the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) in 2019, and he is currently an Assistant Professor at the Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale of the University of Pisa (Italy) and a Scientific Collaborator at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italy). His research revolves around the use of smart polymeric systems for energy application and in microfabrication.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrea Pucci

Andrea Pucci

 

 

Prof. Andrea Pucci is a full professor of industrial chemistry and the Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale at the University of Pisa (Italy). His scientific interests are expressed in polymer science, with particular attention to the preparation of mono-or multiphase polymer (nano)systems with functional properties for applications as chromogenic materials responsive to external stimuli of various kinds or for applications in the energy field. Since November 2016, he is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is now serving as Associate Editor of the RSC Advances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Assessing the performance of sustainable luminescent solar concentrators based on chemically recycled poly(methyl methacrylate)

RSC Appl. Polym., 2024, Advance Article. DOI: 10.1039/D4LP00067F

 

 

 


RSC Applied Polymers is a leading international journal for the application of polymers, including experimental and computational studies on both natural and synthetic systems. In this journal, you can discover cross-disciplinary scientific research that leverages polymeric materials in a range of applications. This includes high impact advances made possible with polymers across materials, biology, energy applications and beyond.

Meet the Authors- ‘Next-gen biomimetic actuators: bilayer hydrogel evolution in the 21st century and its advancements from a post-2020 perspective’

RSC Applied Polymers has published its first articles. To celebrate this we wish to introduce some of our #RSCAppliedfirst50 authors and their recently published articles.

In this post we feature an introduction to Next-gen biomimetic actuators: bilayer hydrogel evolution in the 21st century and its advancements from a post-2020 perspective by Dr Abhijit Bandyopadhyay and Sayan Basak

 


An Introduction to Next-gen biomimetic actuators: bilayer hydrogel evolution in the 21st century and its advancements from a post-2020 perspective by Dr Abhijit Bandyopadhyay and Sayan Basak

 

Hydrogel actuators, characterized by their exceptional capacity to undergo shape deformations in reaction to external stimuli, occupy a prominent position within the domain of materials science, representing a significant potential to revolutionize numerous applications. Ranging from soft robotics to biomedical engineering, the adaptability and versatility of these actuators are widely recognized. Notably, among the array of designs, bilayer-based hydrogel actuators emerge as particularly noteworthy, demonstrating elaborate 2D and 3D shape alterations in response to various stimuli.

Central to the functionality of hydrogel actuators are polymers, which establish three-dimensional networks capable of retaining substantial quantities of water. These polymers serve as the foundation for structural integrity and responsiveness to environmental stimuli, thereby rendering hydrogel actuators biocompatible, permeable, and adaptable. By employing engineering methodologies to manipulate polymer compositions and architectures, researchers can customize desired attributes such as anisotropy. This tailored approach enhances the operational efficacy and controllability of hydrogel actuators across a spectrum of applications, spanning from drug delivery systems to advancements in soft robotics.

Our investigation delves into the detailed features of bilayer-based hydrogel actuators, elucidating their biomimetic designs derived from natural tissues and organs. We examine successful applications across domains including drug delivery, soft robotics, and biomedical engineering, demonstrating the adaptability and promise inherent in these actuators. While challenges persist in attaining precise control over bidirectional motions, recent progress indicates encouraging developments and lays the groundwork for forthcoming innovations.

Looking ahead, there remains an ongoing pursuit for multifunctional hydrogel actuators adept at responding to diverse stimuli with precision and reliability. Addressing challenges within complex environments, particularly underwater scenarios, continues to drive the exploration of innovative fabrication techniques and materials. Collaboration across disciplinary boundaries stands as a pivotal factor in unlocking the full potential of hydrogel technology, as insights drawn from materials science, robotics, and biology converge to shape the future of actuator design.

In the forthcoming years, the emergence of novel fabrication methodologies is anticipated to significantly contribute to the advancement of smart structures. One promising avenue lies in the exploration of patterned structures, inspired by the intricate designs found in nature. Certain botanical structures, for instance, exhibit intriguing shape transitions upon dehydration, and emulating such patterns could unveil new possibilities for hydrogel actuators. Photolithography emerges as a potent tool in this endeavour, facilitating the creation of hydrogel sheets featuring chemically distinct regions. This approach enables preprogramed large-scale 3D shape transitions, mirroring the intricate behaviours observed in natural systems. The introduction of visible patterns, such as those achieved through UV-reduction of graphene oxide, introduces an additional layer of complexity, endowing hydrogel actuators with multiresponsive 3D complex deformations. This expansion of capabilities enhances the versatility and potential applications of hydrogel actuators.


 

 

Dr Bandyopadhyay

Dr Bandyopadhyay

 

Dr Abhijit Bandyopadhyay is currently a full Professor in the Department of Polymer Science & Technology at University of Calcutta, member of the Senate and the Technical Director at South Asia Rubber and Polymers Park, West Bengal. He is the former Head of the Department and the member of the Syndicate of this University. He is a National Scholar, has received Young Scientist Award in 2005 from Material Research Society of India and Career Award for Young Teachers in 2010 from Govt. of India for his contribution in teaching and research in various domains of polymer and rubber science and technology. He has published more than 110 research papers in reputed international journals, filed two Indian patents and delivered several Plenary, Key Note and Invited lectures in International and National conferences and Faculty Development Programs. He has authored six books so far. He has done both Government and Industry sponsored research projects and offered Industrial consultancies regarding development of several products. He has supervised 12 research students so far for obtaining their Doctorate degree and 10 more are currently doing their research under his supervision. His research interest includes polymer blends and composites, polymer nanocomposites, hyperbranched polymers and polymer 3D printing.

 

 

 

 

Sayan Basak

Sayan Basak

 

 

Sayan Basak completed his B.Tech. in Polymer Science and Technology at the University of Calcutta and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Akron, USA specializing in smart polymers. His research focused on shape memory and functional elastomers, aligning with his undergraduate studies. Currently, he works as a research investigator at Biocon India, contributing to the chemical development team. He remains an active collaborator with the Bandyopadhyay group at the University of Calcutta, where he focuses on stimuli-responsive polymers, polymer nanocomposites, and biobased architectural polymers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Next-gen biomimetic actuators: bilayer hydrogel evolution in the 21st century and its advancements from a post-2020 perspective

RSC Appl. Polym., 2024, Advance Article. DOI:10.1039/D4LP00089G

 

 

 

 

 


RSC Applied Polymers is a leading international journal for the application of polymers, including experimental and computational studies on both natural and synthetic systems. In this journal, you can discover cross-disciplinary scientific research that leverages polymeric materials in a range of applications. This includes high impact advances made possible with polymers across materials, biology, energy applications and beyond.

Meet the Authors – ‘A bioinspired approach to reversibly metal binding interfaces’

RSC Applied Polymers has published its first articles. To celebrate this we wish to introduce some of our #RSCAppliedfirst50 authors and their recently published articles.

In this post we feature an introduction to ‘A bioinspired approach to reversibly metal binding interfaces’ written by Agnes Morrisey, Laura Delafresnaye and Christopher Barner-Kowollik et al.

 


An Introduction to A bioinspired approach to reversibly metal binding interfaces by Agnes Morrisey, Laura Delafresnaye and Christopher Barner-Kowollik et al.

Flooding events are becoming more extreme and frequent due to climate change, including in this team’s home city of Brisbane, Australia, where devastating 2011 and 2022 floods of the Brisbane river brought the city to a standstill and adversely affected the livelihoods of many of its residents. These events cause substantial problems with regard to water contamination, especially with heavy metals, making recovery efforts challenging. However, regular rainfall events also cause continued issues for water contamination. Thus, creative solutions to treat and purify storm water are urgently required. The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has partnered with ROCKWOOL-Lapinus to pioneer new strategies for urban storm water treatment, exploiting similar chemistry that marine animals like mussels use to attach themselves to surfaces such as rocks under often extreme conditions. Polymers play a critical role in the current research project, as the way in which mussels adhere to surfaces is by forming a cross-linked, sticky polymer network based on dopamine derivatives. Many studies in the past have been inspired by this natural adhesive mechanism, as it allows adhesion to a very wide range of substrates. Thus, for the current study, the team opted for a dopamine-based adhesion strategy, too.

Previously, the removal of heavy metals from wastewater has been based on conventional methods, which often exhibited a series of shortcomings such as the production of toxic byproducts, high energy consumption, biofouling and high cost. The university/company partnership introduces a materials system that is capable of effectively coating surfaces, while concomitantly allowing metal ions to be removed from aqueous solutions. Specifically, the consortium prepared a bioinspired polymeric system, which can readily crosslink in aqueous solution with effective adhesion onto 2D and 3D surfaces. The perhaps most challenging part of the project was to synthesize the molecule that contained both the adhesive units that are able to crosslink upon increasing the pH of the aqueous environment, while at the same time carrying a ligand molecule that is capable of capturing a wide range of metals, ideally reversibly. At the same time, the team required a simplified system that allowed them to rapidly confirm if the adhesion was successful both on the planar silicon surfaces and – more importantly – on the actual stone wool slabs that are used in the real-world storm water management application. For this purpose, the team also designed an adhesive system that carries a chemically clearly visible marker during surface analysis, i.e. bromine.

The binding surfaces were carefully assessed towards their long-term stability, metal ion binding efficiency and recoverability via surface sensitive analytical methods including Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, which are powerful surface analytical tools that allow the spatially resolved mapping of functionalities on surfaces. The versatility and effectiveness of the approach make these bioinspired materials highly attractive candidates for applications for the use in robust urban storm water treatment systems. The system is currently undergoing engineering assessment to explore real-world implementation, where the team conducts long term water flow testing over larger modified stone wool units, including their regeneration by removing the captured metal ions. Given the universal nature of the adhesion system, the team is actively exploring how to capture other pollutants from urban storm water.

The researchers in the project love working together, as it combines expertise from organic chemistry, industrial chemistry and chemical engineering, to tackle a problem that effects millions of people worldwide.


 

Agnes Morrissey

 

Agnes Morrisey

Agnes Morrisey

Agnes Morrissey obtained a bachelor’s degree in 2019 and master’s degree in 2021 in chemistry from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany, working with Prof Ulrich Schubert on self-healing and dynamic materials. In 2020, during her master’s studies she undertook a research project under supervision of Filip Du Prez as part of her Erasmus semester at Ghent University working on vitrimers. In 2022, she joined QUT’s Soft Matter Materials Laboratory for her doctoral studies under supervision of Distinguished Prof Christopher Barner-Kowollik. Her research focusses on exploring new interfaces for wastewater treatment as part of an industrial collaborative project with ROCKWOOL. In 2023, as part of this collaborative project Agnes conducted an internship stay at ROCKWOOL, the Netherlands, to gain experience in industry applied research.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vishakya Jayalatharachchi

Vishakya Jayalatharachchi

Vishakya Jayalatharachchi

Vishakya Jayalatharachchi graduated with a degree in Chemistry from the College of Chemical Sciences, Sri Lanka in 2014. Following this, she pursued her Master’s degree in Applied Sciences at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and graduated in 2016, subsequently commencing her doctoral studies. Under the supervision of Profs. Josh Lipton-Duffin and Jennifer MacLeod, Vishakya completed her PhD in 2021 in the Surface Science group at QUT. Her doctoral research focused on the assembly and reactions of carboxylic acids on metal-passivated silicon, studied under ultra-high vacuum system. Following the completion of her PhD, Vishakya joined the Soft Matter Materials group at QUT as a postdoctoral research fellow in 2022, under the supervision of Distinguished Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik. During this time, she contributed to a collaborative project aimed at understanding the materials and rockwool fiber interfaces. Currently, she works as a postdoctoral researcher at Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. She works with Professor Dr. Sabine Maier in Experimental Physics group studying the molecular self-assembly and on- surface reactions with atomic precision.

 

 

 

 

Lukas Michalek

Lukas Michalek

Lukas Michalek

Lukas Michalek is a Walter Benjamin Postdoctoral Fellow with an interdisciplinary background that bridges chemistry, materials science, and engineering. His research interests center on leveraging advanced characterization techniques, molecular design, and theory to gain fundamental insights into soft matter. Lukas specializes in probing soft matter materials and polymer structures at surfaces and interfaces. During his PhD at the Queensland University of Technology, he developed novel methodologies for precisely characterizing material properties on surfaces under the supervision of Prof Christopher Barner-Kowollik (graduated 2020). As a postdoc at Stanford University, he applies his expertise to understand polymeric materials for emerging flexible electronics applications and is developing advanced characterization methodologies under the guidance of Prof Zhenan Bao. Lukas is combing polymer chemistry with advanced analytical instrumentation like atomic force microscopy to elucidate structure-property relationships. His interdisciplinary skills allow him to connect molecular-level understanding to real-world applications.

 

 

 

 

Prasanna Egodawatta

Prasanna Egodawatta

Prasanna Egodawatta

Associate Professor Prasanna Egodawatta is a water and environmental engineer at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He has over 20 years of experience in both industry and academia. Prasanna’s recent research is focused on stormwater engineering, particularly in the environmental monitoring of toxic pollutants. Notably, his investigations into the fate and distribution of PFAS in urban environments and transformation and degradation processes of PAHs and heavy metals have emphasized the concealed risks associated with Australian waterways. Prasanna has empowered the scientific community to better manage toxic pollutant levels in urban water systems by developing predictive equations, innovative modelling techniques, and comprehensive risk assessment tools. So far, Prasanna has co-supervised 21 PhD projects to completion and produced over 150 research outputs, including seven authored books and 101 journal articles. Prasanna has also been involved in research projects with authorities such as the City of Logan and the City of Gold Coast and major corporations such as Urban Utilities, Port of Brisbane Corporation and Brisbane Airport Corporation.

 

 

 

 

Neomy Zaquen

Neomy Zaquen

Neomy Zaquen

Neomy Zaquen is a Chemical Engineer, who graduated from the University of Technology, Eindhoven the Netherlands in 2012. She started her career by pursuing a PhD in chemistry at Hasselt University, Belgium, in the lab of Prof. Tanja Junkers. She joined the groups of Prof. Cyrille Boyer and Prof. Per Zetterlund at the University of New South Wales in 2017 on a Marie Curie fellowship, where she worked on the implementation of polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) reactions in batch and flow. At the end of 2018, she moved back to the Netherlands, where she started working in product development, at ROCKWOOL. Once acquainted with the stone wool products, the market and its customers, she became Product Manager, where she combines her technical knowledge with current market trends. At the same time, she graduated an executive master of Marketing and Management, at TIAS School for Business and Society, the Netherlands, in 2022. Currently, she is working as Strategy and Business Development Manager, thereby mapping strategic possibilities and looking into future markets for ROCKWOOL.

 

 

 

 

Laura Delafresnaye

Laura Delafresnaye

Laura Delafresnaye

Laura Delafresnaye completed a dual engineering degree in chemistry and an MSc in polymer chemistry in 2012 at ESCPE/University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France. During her academic journey, Laura gained practical experience as a junior engineer for a year at Bluestar Silicones (now Elkem) in Barcelona, Spain. Following this, she pursued her master’s thesis in 2012, which focused on controlled radical polymerization, at the laboratory of Catalysis, Polymerization, Process, and Materials (CP2M, Lyon, France). In 2013, she continued her academic pursuits with a PhD, collaborating with Solvay, focusing on the synthesis of polymer/clay nanocomposites film-forming latexes, also conducted in the same laboratory. In 2017, Dr. Delafresnaye joined the Soft Matter Materials Laboratory at the Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane, Australia) under the guidance of Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik. Since then, she has developed her expertise in photochemistry, particle synthesis, and chemiluminescence. She assumed the role of Head of Laboratory Operations, and was promoted to the role of Research Coordinator for Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik in 2019. Notably, she secured an Australian Research Council Linkage grant in 2020, collaborating with the industrial partner Rockwool-Lapinus, and a Discovery grant in 2022.

 

 

Christopher Barner-Kowollik

Christopher Barner-Kowollik

Christopher Barner-Kowollik

A graduate in chemistry from Göttingen University, Germany, Christopher joined the University of New South Wales in early 2000 rising to lead the Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design in 2006 as one of its directors. He returned to Germany to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in 2008, where he established and led a German Research Council-funded Centre of Excellence in soft matter synthesis. Following a period as an adjunct professor at QUT, he moved to QUT in early 2017 and established QUT’s Soft Matter Materials Laboratory, now one of the world’s premier macromolecular laboratories. Over his 24-year career, he attracted over $50M in funding, working at the interface of photo- and macromolecular chemistry using light as a finely-gated tool to control reactivity in multi-color reaction modes. He authored over 780 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals (cited over 47 000 times). Christopher’s research achievements have been recognized by an array of national and international awards including the coveted Centenary Prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Belgian Polymer Medal, the Erwin-Schrödinger Award by the German Helmholtz Association, the United Kingdom Macro Medal as well as national awards by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, the Australian Academy of Science, the Royal Society of New South Wales, an ARC Professorial Fellowship and a Laureate Fellowship. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.

 

 

 


A bioinspired approach to reversibly metal binding interfaces

Agnes C. Morrissey,  Vishakya Jayalatharachchi, Lukas Michalek, Prasanna Egodawatta, Neomy Zaquen, Laura Delafresnaye and Christopher Barner-Kowollik

RSC Appl. Polym., 2024, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/D4LP00010B

Graphical abstract: A bioinspired approach to reversibly metal binding interfaces

 

 

 

 


 

 

RSC Applied Polymers is a leading international journal for the application of polymers, including experimental and computational studies on both natural and synthetic systems. In this journal, you can discover cross-disciplinary scientific research that leverages polymeric materials in a range of applications. This includes high impact advances made possible with polymers across materials, biology, energy applications and beyond.

Meet the Author – ‘PISA printing from CTA functionalized polymer scaffolds’

RSC Applied Polymers has published its first articles. To celebrate this we wish to introduce some of our #RSCAppliedfirst50 authors and their recently published articles.

In this post we feature an introduction to ‘PISA printing from CTA functionalized polymer scaffolds’ written by Dr Anthony Convertine.


An Introduction to ‘PISA printing from CTA functionalized polymer scaffolds’ by Dr. Anthony Convertine

Dr. Anthony Convertine and his research team at Missouri University of Science and Technology are developing a new 3D printing technique known as PISA Printing, as detailed in their publication “PISA printing from CTA functionalized polymer scaffolds” in RSC Applied Polymers. This method combines Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly (PISA) with controlled RAFT polymerization to create complex, high-resolution structures from biocompatible materials. The technique allows for the production of scaffolds that can replicate the detailed architecture of vascular tissues, achieving resolutions around 22 microns. With ongoing efforts to improve the diversity of materials used and the precision of the printing process, their research aims to enhance the capabilities of tissue engineering, potentially offering new avenues for medical treatments and regenerative medicine.

In our recent publication, “PISA printing from CTA functionalized polymer scaffolds,” we explore the application of Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly (PISA) printing within the realm of 3D printing technology.. The paper outlines how Controlled Radical Polymerization, particularly RAFT polymerization, can be integrated with DLP printers to fabricate detailed, high-resolution biomedical scaffolds. Our findings reveal that PISA printing can create intricate structures, essential for replicating the complex microenvironment of natural tissues.

Polymers are crucial in this process, acting as the base material for printing these structures. We utilize Chain Transfer Agent (CTA) functionalized polymers to enable the self-assembly of nanostructures into solid forms, bypassing the need for traditional chemical crosslinking. This approach not only streamlines the manufacturing process but also produces materials that are both biocompatible and capable of controlled degradation within the body.

A notable achievement of our research is reaching printing resolutions of up to 22 microns, a significant advancement for tissue engineering efforts that require the precise replication of vascular networks. Furthermore, our study emphasizes the critical role of multifunctional CTA design in improving the mechanical strength of the printed scaffolds, thereby supporting cellular growth and tissue development.

Looking ahead, our team is committed to enhancing the PISA printing technique by investigating a broader selection of polymers and functionalization methods to boost scaffold functionality. We’re also aiming to extend the use of PISA printing to the creation of organ-specific scaffolds, seeking collaborations with stem cell and organ modelling specialists to achieve these ambitious objectives.

 


 

Anthony Convertine

Anthony Convertine

 

Behind this research is Dr. Anthony Convertine, the Roberta and G. Robert Couch Assistant Professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology. He earned his Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Southern Mississippi under the advisement of Professor Charles McCormick, specializing in controlled RAFT polymerization. He then moved to the University of Washington where he conducted postdoctoral research under Professors Patrick Stayton and Allan Hoffman in the department of Bioengineering. The focus of his postdoctoral studies was to develop pH-responsive polymers to facilitate the intracellular delivery of biologic drugs (i.e. siRNA, mRNA, peptides, antibodies).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

PISA printing from CTA functionalized polymer scaffolds
A. Priester, J. Yeng, Y. Zhang, R. Wang and A. J. Convertine

RSC Appl. Polym., 2024, Advance Article.

DOI:10.1039/D3LP00252G

Graphical abstract: PISA printing from CTA functionalized polymer scaffolds

 


 

 

RSC Applied Polymers is a leading international journal for the application of polymers, including experimental and computational studies on both natural and synthetic systems. In this journal, you can discover cross-disciplinary scientific research that leverages polymeric materials in a range of applications. This includes high impact advances made possible with polymers across materials, biology, energy applications and beyond.

Meet the Authors – ‘Simultaneous photo-induced polymerization and surface modification by microfluidic spinning to produce functionalized polymer microfibers: Effect of their surface modification on cell adhesion’

RSC Applied Polymers has published its first articles. To celebrate this we wish to introduce some of our #RSCAppliedfirst50 authors and their recently published articles.

In this post we feature an introduction to Simultaneous photo-induced polymerization and surface modification by microfluidic spinning to produce functionalized polymer microfibers: Effect of their surface modification on cell adhesion written by the team of researchers behind the paper.

 


An Introduction to Simultaneous photo-induced polymerization and surface modification by microfluidic spinning to produce functionalized polymer microfibers: Effect of their surface modification on cell adhesion by Dr Delphine Chan-Seng et al.

Microfluidics refers both to the science of fluid flows (liquid or gas) in channels whose characteristic length is of the order of a few dozen to several hundred micrometres, as well as to the techniques and objects needed to manipulate them. As such, microfluidics can be considered for the preparation of polymers with various shapes ranging from spherical particles to fibres. Our group has been recently focusing its interest on producing polymer microfibers by photopolymerization using a capillary-based microfluidic device. We demonstrated the control of the features of the fibres obtained through the operating parameters and the nature of the monomers used. In this work, we report the first example of simultaneous formation of the polymer microfibers and their surface modification in a simple and fast one-step process. Acrylate monomers present in the core phase were photopolymerized, while the surface of the fibre was modified thanks to the presence of reactive molecule towards acrylate in the continuous phase. The effect of the modification of the fibre surface was investigated in terms of wetting properties and ability to promote cell adhesion. The fibres modified using molecules bearing multiple thiol groups were the more promising exhibiting a decrease in hydrophilicity at the fibre surface and an increase in cell adhesion. The advantages of microfluidic spinning (continuous synthesis avoiding problems of batch-to-batch reproducibility issues) combining with those of our strategy to modify polymer fibres without post-production modification (cost and time reduction) offer an appealing approach in the fields of functional polymer fibres developed for a wide range of applications.

 


 

Dr Wasif Razzaq

Wasif Razzaq is an accomplished researcher and assistant professor specializing in polymer science and engineering. He holds a Ph.D. in process engineering with a focus on polymer science and engineering from the University of Strasbourg, France. With expertise in microfluidic spinning of polymer microfibers and the development of novel and smart materials, he has made significant contributions to the field. He has published several research papers in renowned journals and has presented his work at international conferences. In addition to his research, he has a strong teaching background, having served as an assistant professor in Department of Materials, National Textile University, Pakistan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prof. Christophe Serra

Christophe Serra is a Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Strasbourg (France). He received his Ph.D. in 1996 from the University Paul Sabatier in Toulouse (France) with a work on hollow fibres. Then, he spent 18 months as a postdoctoral researcher at Rice University (Houston, TX) making CFD simulations on rotating and stationary membrane disk. Since 1998. He has been a faculty member of the University Louis Pasteur which became the University of Strasbourg in 2009. His researches concern the development of new microfluidic-assisted polymer processes for the synthesis of architecture-controlled polymers as well as functional micro- and nanostructured polymer particles and fibres. In 2015 he joined the Charles Sadron Institute (ICS, UPR 22 CNRS) and took the head of the group on Polymer Engineering and Process Intensification (IP²).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candice Dusouillez

Candice Dussouillez is assistant engineer in biology at the University of pharmacology in Illkirch-Graffenstaden and work under the supervision of Antoine Kichler. After a master degree in virology in the University of Strasbourg, she joined the 3Bio team for the required internship to work on cancerology in 2019 and was then recruited in the team to work on vectorization of drugs, proteins and nucleic acids alongside Antoine Kichler.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Naji Kharouf

Naji Kharouf is Associate Professor in Faculty of Dentistry and the department of Biomaterials & Bioengineering INSERM UMR_S 1121 at the Strasbourg University, France. He has been working in dental biomaterials, endodontic treatment, coronal restorative techniques, bioactive molecules, microsurgical skeels and dental morphology since 2018 (H-Index: 14, 2024). He has been speaker in several international conferences. He has published, in collaboration with internationally researchers, more than 68 scientific papers in international peer-review journals with high impact in the dental and biomaterials field. He has a Certificate in Oral Implantology, a Master degree in Biomaterials for Health, a Microsurgical Diploma, an Esthetic of Smile Diploma, a Ph.D. in Endodontics, a Post-Doc in Dental materials and finally a H.D.R. in Dental materials modified with graphene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Irene Andrea Acuña Mejía

Irene Andrea Acuña Mejía obtained a chemical engineering diploma from Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogota, Colombia in 2018. Afterwards, she obtained her master’s degree in Polymer Science and Sustainable Materials at the University of Strasbourg and the University of Freiburg in 2021. Then, she joined IP2 team at Institut Charles Sadron as an engineer in 2022. She worked on the development of an intensified process for the continuous production of hybrid polymeric microparticles with solvatochromic properties using microfluidics, encapsulating metallic nanoparticles within a polymeric matrix. Currently, her work focuses on the production of functionalized polymersomes using different microfluidic devices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Antoine Kichler

Antoine Kichler is research Director at the CNRS. He received his Ph.D. in pharmaco-chemistry in 1994 from the University of Strasbourg (France). After two post-doctoral positions he moved to Genethon in Evry in 1997 (France) to head a group working on non-viral gene delivery before joining the Faculté de Pharmacie of Strasbourg in 2012. His research interests are in the field of vectorization of anti-tumoral drugs, proteins and nucleic acids (DNA, mRNA, siRNA) using a variety of delivery systems including cell penetrating peptides, polymers and lipids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Delphine Chan-Seng

Delphine Chan-Seng is a CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research) researcher at the Institut Charles Sadron in Strasbourg (France). She carried out her graduate studies with Michael K. Georges (Ph.D., 2007, University of Toronto, Canada) and did a postdoctoral stay in the group of Todd Emrick (2007-2011, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA) working on projects in the field of polymer chemistry. In 2011, she started her independent career as a CNRS researcher joining the Institut Charles Sadron. Her research focuses on designing polymers, among which some are stimuli-sensitive, for biomedical applications (drug and gene delivery, bioimaging, etc.) by combining organic and polymer chemistry, peptide synthesis, and macromolecular engineering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Simultaneous photo-induced polymerization and surface modification by microfluidic spinning to produce functionalized polymer microfibers: the effect of their surface modification on cell adhesion
Wasif Razzaq, Christophe A. Serra, Candice Dussouillez, Naji Kharouf, Irene Andrea Acuña Mejía, Antoine Kichlerc and Delphine Chan-Seng.

RSC Appl. Polym., 2024,2, 62-70. DOI: 10.1039/D3LP00032J.

 

Graphical abstract: Simultaneous photo-induced polymerization and surface modification by microfluidic spinning to produce functionalized polymer microfibers: the effect of their surface modification on cell adhesion

 

 


 

 

RSC Applied Polymers is a leading international journal for the application of polymers, including experimental and computational studies on both natural and synthetic systems. In this journal, you can discover cross-disciplinary scientific research that leverages polymeric materials in a range of applications. This includes high impact advances made possible with polymers across materials, biology, energy applications and beyond.

Meet the Authors – ‘Melt Stability of Carbonic Anhydrase in Polyethylene oxide for Extrusion of Protein-Polymer Composite Materials’.

RSC Applied Polymers has published its first articles. To celebrate this we wish to introduce some of our #RSCAppliedfirst50 authors and their recently published articles.

In this post we feature authors Professor Jon Pokorski and Mr Samuel Hays for the article Melt Stability of Carbonic Anhydrase in Polyethylene oxide for Extrusion of Protein-Polymer Composite Materials’.

 


An Introduction to ‘Melt Stability of Carbonic Anhydrase in Polyethylene oxide for Extrusion of Protein-Polymer Composite Materials’ by Samuel Hayes.

 

In this work, we demonstrate the thermal stability of powdered bovine carbonic anhydrase during melt-processing of polyethylene oxide, (PEO), up to temperatures of 190 °C.  Carbonic anhydrase, (CA), is a biologically common enzyme, capable of quickly catalyzing the conversion between CO2 and HCO3.  Carbonic anhydrase is an exciting, biologically friendly tool for CO2 capture.  Melt processing, specifically hot melt extrusion, is a manufacturing technique capable of generating products with controlled geometries at massive scale.  Melt extruding PEO with dispersed CA into membrane shapes should allow for mass production of functional, enzymatic membranes for CO2 capture.

This work investigates the role of temperature, shear rate, and PEO molecular weight (MW), on the recovery of catalytically active CA following melt processing.  Close to 80% of the protein remained active following processing up to 130 °C, regardless of shear stresses and PEO MW.  At a temperature of 190 °C, there was a clear increase in protein recovery when increasing PEO MW, with higher PEO MW samples having as much as 40% of initial protein still active.  Additionally, the CA recovered had structure and activity of native CA, suggesting non-conjugated, high MW PEO can preserve the enzyme beyond standard protein aggregation temperatures.

The role of PEO in this process is not completely understood, however hypotheses are provided to guide future work as understanding this mechanism can lead to more advanced and scalable carbon capture applications.  The feasibility of melt-processing PEO with carbonic anhydrase is very exciting.  Membrane materials will be made in future work with the goal of mass producing of enzymatic membranes for CO2 capture.

 


 

Samuel Hays

 

Samuel Hays received his BS in 2018 and MS in 2020 in chemical and biomolecular engineering from Georgia Tech, working with Dr. William Koros on carbon molecular sieve membranes for natural gas purification.  In 2020, he joined Dr. Jonathan Pokorski’s group in the Nanoengineering department at UC San Diego, working towards his PhD in chemical engineering.  His work focuses on developing biocatalytic membranes for CO2 capture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Pokorski

 

 

Professor Pokorski began his career by earning his B.S. in biochemistry from UCLA, while working in private industry designing biomedical devices. Dr. Pokorski received his PhD in chemistry from Northwestern University, where he designed peptidomimetics for use in medical diagnostics and therapeutics. Dr. Pokorski then moved to The Scripps Research Institute as a post-doctoral fellow, where he engineered viral nanoparticles as drug-delivery systems. Pokorski started his independent career at Case Western Reserve University in the Macromolecular Science and Engineering department developing bioconjugate materials. Pokorski’s laboratory at UCSD now works to bridge chemical synthesis, molecular biology, and materials science to make new materials for applications in biomedicine and sustainability. Pokorski’s research has been funded through grants from the NIH, NSF, DOE and ACS. He has been awarded several prestigious awards, including an ACS PRF New Investigator Award and an NIH Pathway to Independence Award. Pokorski currently serves as an IRG lead for the UC San Diego MRSEC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Melt stability of carbonic anhydrase in polyethylene oxide for extrusion of protein–polymer composite materials

Samuel S. Hays and Jonathan K. Pokorski

RSC Appl. Polym., 2024, Advance Article. DOI: 10.1039/D3LP00193H

 

 

Graphical abstract: Melt stability of carbonic anhydrase in polyethylene oxide for extrusion of protein–polymer composite materials

 

 


 

 

RSC Applied Polymers is a leading international journal for the application of polymers, including experimental and computational studies on both natural and synthetic systems. In this journal, you can discover cross-disciplinary scientific research that leverages polymeric materials in a range of applications. This includes high impact advances made possible with polymers across materials, biology, energy applications and beyond.

Meet the Authors – ‘A simple approach to determining the efficacy of antiperspirants using paper-based colorimetric paper sensors: SweatSENSE’.

RSC Applied Polymers has published its first articles. To celebrate this we wish to introduce some of our #RSCAppliedfirst50 authors and their recently published articles.

In this post we feature corresponding author Dr Rachel Hand for the article ‘A simple approach to determining the efficacy of antiperspirants using paper-based colorimetric paper sensors: SweatSENSE’.

 


An Introduction to ‘A simple approach to determining the efficacy of antiperspirants using paper-based colorimetric paper sensors: SweatSENSE’ by Dr Rachel A. Hand.

 

Antiperspirant is a vast global industry, as worldwide it is used at least daily by a majority of people to tackle the perceived problem of sweat. However, prior to SweatSENSE, there was no simple way to assess the efficacy of new products in a variety of environments.
SweatSENSE is a project that started during my PhD and over the years has seen a number of researchers work collaboratively across the University of Warwick and Unilever to progress it from the paint brush tests we started with to the inkjet-printed paper-based sensor in use globally by Unilever today. The device is also patented and can be seen in use as a marketing tool here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myRleLw5TNM
Our imidazolium derivative of polydiacetylene is key to the device as it is changes in polarity that disrupt the conjugation within the polymer itself that provides the colorimetric element of the sensor. Our modifications mean that the polymer is not hydrochromic; it does not exhibit a colour change (from blue to red) to water, but does react in the presence of weak organic acids (known malodorous components of sweat). We also demonstrated that body temperature does not invoke the colour change, this coupled with the tuned reaction time eliciting a full axilla response in 5 seconds means that the device can be used globally, including in climates with high humidity, enabling simple fast worldwide testing with no need for challenging storage and transportation of samples.
Furthermore, we demonstrated that the device can be used to differentiate between people using different products in the underarm and within this we observe greater differences in, and therefore it is easier to differentiate between subsections that are grouped based on the level of sweat typically produced, compared to using the traditional method.
Finally, the authors dedicate the paper in the memory of Dr Maria Grypioti.

 

 


 

 

Rachel Hand

Rachel Hand graduated from the University of Warwick with a Master of Chemistry with Industrial Training degree (MChem. (Hons.)) in 2015. As part of this, Rachel spent the third year of her undergraduate degree working in industry at Ashland Specialty Ingredients before returning to Warwick to complete her degree with an MChem. research project in the group of Professor Dave Haddleton entitled ‘The Synthesis and use of Macromonomers by Catalytic Chain Transfer Polymerisation (CCTP).’ Rachel remained in the Haddleton group to complete her Unilever sponsored PhD entitled ‘Novel Devices for Sampling and Analysis of Volatiles.’ in 2019. She then spent 21 months as a Partnership for Clean Competition (PCC) funded PDRA working on Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) for the detection of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids in biological samples at De Montfort University, Leicester (with Prof. Nick Turner) where she remained a visiting Research Fellow until 2023. As part of this, she is also a visiting research fellow at The Open University in Milton Keynes. Rachel returned to Warwick in February 2021 where she spent two years as Unilever Research Fellow in Polymer Chemistry before becoming an Assistant Professor in Sustainable Futures (Chemistry), where she is course leader of the new transdisciplinary Postgraduate Taught MSc in Global Decarbonisation & Climate Change. Rachel’s research sits at the interface of polymer chemistry and analytical chemistry, designing and synthesising interactive polymers and new analytical methodologies for a variety of applications in the biomedical and personal care fields, with a focus on sustainability. As part of this, Rachel is also currently a thematic fellow of the Institute of Global Sustainable Development.

 

 

 

 


 

 

A simple approach to determining the efficacy of antiperspirants using paper-based colorimetric paper sensors: SweatSENSE.

Rachel A. Hand, Spyridon Efstathiou, Alan M. Wemyss, Maria Grypioti, Gavin Kirby, Tammie Barlow, Emmett Cullen Tinley, Jane Ford, Andy Jamieson, Janette Reynolds, Jean Miller, Susan Bates, Ezat Khoshdelab and David M. Haddleton.

RSC Appl. Polym., 2024,2, 98-104. DOI: 10.1039/D3LP00214D.

 

Graphical abstract: A simple approach to determining the efficacy of antiperspirants using paper-based colorimetric paper sensors: SweatSENSE

 


 

 

RSC Applied Polymers is a leading international journal for the application of polymers, including experimental and computational studies on both natural and synthetic systems. In this journal, you can discover cross-disciplinary scientific research that leverages polymeric materials in a range of applications. This includes high impact advances made possible with polymers across materials, biology, energy applications and beyond.