Physically CrossLinked Self Healing Biomaterials

One of the long-standing challenges in materials science involves synthesizing biomaterials that recapitulate important features of native biological tissues. One of the targets in this regard, has been to develop a biomaterial that can mimic the properties of human skin which is very influential in

Project Title

Physically CrossLinked Self Healing Biomaterials

Project Area of Specialization

Biomedical Engineering

Project Summary

One of the long-standing challenges in materials science involves synthesizing biomaterials that recapitulate important features of native biological tissues. One of the targets in this regard, has been to develop a biomaterial that can mimic the properties of human skin which is very influential in the field of wound healing. Human skin is the outermost and protective organ of human body. Due to this position, it often gets injured, but every time when it gets injured, it automatically repairs back the injury with the rejoining of its constituent units. Similarly, the self-healing polymer also tends to bring its constituent units together across the damaged part in order to heal itself. Hence, we have set the goal to develop a polymeric hydrogel that combines self-healing and reversibility with the other skin-like properties.

Project Objectives

1- To make a biomaterial that is able to autonomously heal itself quickly upon damage.

2- The biomaterial should have an easy fabrication process with regenerable bonding among its chemical components.

3- The structural and mechanical properties of material should match those for behaving like human skin and assisting wound healing process.

Project Implementation Method

Implementation steps:

1. Weight empty 100ml beaker with magnetic stirrer.

2. Then fill this beaker with 25ml PBS and weigh again.

3. Heat this 25ml PBS solution on magnetic stirrer upto 50oC.

4. Also heat distilled water uptill 50oC in a smaller beaker.

5. When temperature of PBS solution reaches 50oC, add 5gm PVA into it step-wise and also start magnetic stirring keeping the temperature constant.

6. Keep stirring for 5 hours and after every 1/2 hour, weigh the beaker and if the weight is less than the total of beaker+stirrer+PBS+PVA, then top up till that total weight from the heated distilled water.

7. In a smaller beaker, mix 4.5ml PBS solution and 3gm TA together at room temperature.

9. Take the PVA solution in a falcon tube and start vigorous mixing by vortex mixer.

10. While mixing by vortex mixer, add the TA solution stepwise into this falcon tube.

11. After this vigorous mixing for 5-10 minutes, start mixing with spatula for 1 minute.

12. Finally, rinse the gel with distilled water and store in silicone mold with a very little distilled water.

Benefits of the Project

There is a lot of potential benefit for wound care department to have self-healing bio- materials, particularly because the key benefits at the top of the pyramid would be that it leads to a longer lifecycle of the material/bandage. We know that biomaterials,usually made up of Polymers and polymer-based composites, suffer from having small cracks that can lead to trouble down, so if you could heal them quickly before they become bigger cracks or environmental attack can occur in those small cracks, you would be able to extend the lifetime of the biomaterial. This project inspiration comes partially from biological systems, as all living systems have the ability to heal up to a certain extent, and so that is a huge inspiration. How to do that in a synthetic material, is of course, a challenge. Some synthetic bio-materials at this time have already been reported to have some self-healing properties. There are lots of potential benefits for industry, particularly in extending the lifecycle of the bio-materials. That is a key thing for us; we're trying to study how to extend the entire lifecycle of the bio-material. Another key benefit is that it improves safety and reliability of bio-materials, which is an important goal because if something is in service it will last longer and it won't fail.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

-High stretchibility

-High elasticity

-High stress healing

-Fast and strong cut self healing

-Good strength

-Working life for several days/weeks

-Slow drying rate

Final Deliverable of the Project

Hardware System

Core Industry

Medical

Other Industries

Health

Core Technology

Wearables and Implantables

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being for People

Required Resources

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