Training to Improve Precision and Accuracy in the Measurement of Fiber Morphology.

An estimated $7.1 billion dollars a year is spent due to irreproducibility in pre-clinical data from errors in data analysis and reporting. Therefore, developing tools to improve measurement comparability is paramount.

Influence of Sterilization Technologies on Electrospun Poly(ester urea)s for Soft Tissue Repair.

Degradable poly(ester urea)s (PEU)s were electrospun into nanofiber sheets and assessed for their potential to be used in soft tissue repair. The level of residual solvent was measured and the effects of ethylene oxide and electron beam sterilization techniques on molecular mass, mass distribution, and morphology were quantified. Two PEU compositions that formed stable nanofiber sheets were advanced into a pilot study in vitro and in vivo as candidate materials for hernia repair.

Post-Electrospinning "Triclick" Functionalization of Degradable Polymer Nanofibers.

4-Dibenzocyclooctynol (DIBO) was used as an initiator for the ring-opening copolymerization of ε-caprolactone and 1,4,8-trioxaspiro[4.6]-9-undecanone (TOSUO) resulting in a series of DIBO end-functionalized copolymers. Following deprotection of the ketone group, the polymers were derivatized with aminooxyl-containing compounds by oxime ligation.

Radiopaque, iodine functionalized, phenylalanine-based poly(ester urea)s.

The synthesis and characterization of iodine-functionalized phenylalanine-based poly(ester urea)s (PEUs) are reported. 4-Iodo-L-phenylalanine and L-phenylalanine were separately reacted with 1,6-hexanediol to produce two monomers, bis-4-I-L-phenylalanine-1,6-hexanediol-diester (1-IPHE-6 monomer) and bis-L-phenylalanine-1,6-hexanediol-diester (1-PHE-6 monomer). By varying the feed ratio of the 1-IPHE-6 and 1-PHE-6 monomers, the copolymer composition was modulated resulting in a wide variation in thermal, mechanical and radiopacity properties.

Resorbable, amino acid-based poly(ester urea)s crosslinked with osteogenic growth peptide with enhanced mechanical properties and bioactivity.

Materials currently used for the treatment of bone defects include ceramics, polymeric scaffolds and composites, which are often impregnated with recombinant growth factors and other bioactive substances. While these materials have seen instances of success, each has inherent shortcomings including prohibitive expense, poor protein stability, poorly defined growth factor release and less than desirable mechanical properties. We have developed a novel class of amino acid-based poly(ester urea)s (PEU) materials which are biodegradable in vivo and possess mechanical properties superior to conventionally used polyesters (<3.