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Mara Lee Macdonald Chemical Engineering Grad Student |
I am a member of the subgroup in the lab that is exploring the use of
layer by layer assembly as a drug delivery device to release therapeutic
agents from prostheses which are surgically implanted. My focus is on
releasing proteins from these delivery devices. We envision that, by
releasing growth factors from a layer by layer film, we can enhance the
proliferation and differentiation of the functional cells (parenchyma)
of a tissue to facilitate wound healing. This approach has two
advantages over simply adding a coating to the outside of a surgical
implant. The first is that timed release of different drugs is possible
by incorporating the drugs into different layers of the film so that one
is released first (incorporated near the top) and a different drug can
be released at a later time (incorporated near the bottom of the film).
The second advantage is that there is an opportunity to spatially
control the character of the film.
My first goal in this area has been to prove that proteins can be
incorporated in layer by layer films in a target dose size that we need
for our devices to be therapeutically effective and to explore the time
course over which release occurs. We also are investigating the yield of
functional protein that is capable of being released (as the protein
could denature and loose its therapeutic properties during the process
of building the layer by layer film). We are currently incorporating
growth factors into layer by layer films and testing them using in vitro
assays to assess cell proliferation and differentiation in response to
the presence of growth factors from the layer by layer films.
