Refining the Synthesis of a Monomer Towards a Novel Wound Dressing and Designing a Clot-Testing Device

Date of Award

5-5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Chemistry

First Reader

Dr. Sharon Hamilton

Second Reader

Dr. Keven Cornelius

Third Reader

Professor Carol Friend

Abstract

For centuries, gauze has been central to wound care and healing. As early as the 1980s, hemostatic dressings have helped stabilize wounds in treating traumatic injuries. However, gauze is a foreign substance to the human body and must be removed over time, which is not ideal for all types of wound healing. Some gauze-based hemostatic systems can also cause secondary burn wounds due to excess chitosan, a required substance for its efficacy. In our study, we designed a novel wound dressing that should improve on current methods. This dressing mimics the human extracellular matrix which helps cell regeneration and will degrade in the body, eliminating the need to change or remove the dressing following application. The amount of chitosan utilized in our dressing is also reduced, lowering the chances of burns within wounds. A carboxylic acid-modified polycaprolactone (PCL) was produced and subsequently modified via amide coupling reactions to produce a biomimetic PCL (bPCL). bPCL was electrospun with chitosan to produce fiber mats ready for testing and analysis as a wound dressing.

The other part of the project focused on the design and construction of a device that would simulate an “open wound” environment using 3-D printing and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Such a device allows the clotting properties of the dressing to be tested. Specifically, the device would allow the Hamilton lab to perform flow tests to analyze the clotting capabilities of fiber mats. In order to analyze the hemostatic properties of the bPCL/chitosan fiber mats, samples of platelets were pumped through the device with the fiber mat placed inside. It is anticipated that these novel materials will be utilized in a variety of biomedical applications.

Comments

This thesis is currently embargoed. It will be available May 2029.

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