Jordan
Raphel |
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email:
jraphel AT
stanford DOT
edu
Dept:
Materials Science
& Engineering
B.S.
Materials Science & Engineering Cornell University
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Biomaterial implants
require biocompatible surfaces in order
to minimize potential immune system reactions and to promote implate
integration with the host tissue. In this project, I am developing a
robust process to create uniform bioactive coatings on orthopedic
implants using our group's engineered elastin-like protein. Upon
covalent coupling of a photoactive moiety to our elastin-like protein,
we can control the extent of protein crosslinking into a stable thin
film coating by varying the location and extent of light exposure. By
altering the local crosslinking density, the local mechanical
properties and mesh size of the film can be tuned to alter modulus,
swelling ratio, degradation rate, and diffusivity. My goal is to use
the tailored properties of our engineered protein in order to make
coatings for biomaterial implants that induce cell adhesion and offer
controlled drug release.
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