BME PhD Preliminary Exam Announcement for Julia Walsh (H. Lee, advisor)
Everyone is invited to attend the public presentation beginning at 3:00 pm.
Title: Systematic evaluation of antibiofouling coatings towards smarter and more reliable implantable devices
Date/Time: May 1st at 3 pm
Committee: Dr. Hugh Lee, Dr. Kenneth Dunn, Dr. Chi Hwan Lee, & Dr. Young Kim
Abstract:
Knowledge and treatment of many medical disorders may be advanced through the use of real-time monitoring devices such as implanted sensors and optical windows to identify and track biological
events and processes leading to disease initiation and progression. However, the effectiveness and longevity of these real-time monitoring devices are potentially limited by biofouling and biocompatibility issues associated with protein adsorption, immune
activation, and fibrosis after device placement. Protein adsorption can be reduced or prevented by surface modification of the implanted devices, including through the application of medical coatings. Yet, deciding which coatings will provide the best results
is difficult due to a lack of standardization in approaches for coatings testing of biocompatibility. The work proposed here lays out a comprehensive analysis of approaches to address this problem and to examine biofouling in sensor and optical window systems.
Initial studies will focus on the analysis of a range of coatings to assess coating stability in different environments, and the effects of coating application on sensor function. Two distinct sensor systems for biological molecules will be examined with initial
studies focused on a sensor detecting the neurotransmitter dopamine. As a second approach, a novel sensor for prothrombin detection for cell-on-a-chip purposes will be studied to identify potential improvements with coatings applications. In a third study,
the effect of implanting an optical window near the kidney in rodents will be undertaken to assess device biocompatibility via intravital microscopy. Results in this collaborative project are expected to demonstrate immune activation and vascularization accelerated
by window implantation. The impact of a limited number of coatings on these processes are examined in preliminary studies. All together the work within this proposal is aimed at expanding an understanding of coating performance and the impact of biofouling
during real-time monitoring applications, thus opening up new pathways for the study of complex diseases.