H.E.A.L.
Hydrogel Engineering for Adaptive Lattices
Hydrogel Crosslinker
Problem Statement
Hydrogels for biomedical applications (wound care, drug delivery, tissue engineering) are commonly crosslinked with glutaraldehyde, genipin, or synthetic crosslinkers like PEGDA. Glutaraldehyde is cytotoxic at low concentrations and leaves residual unreacted aldehyde groups. Genipin is expensive ($2,000-5,000/kg) and causes blue discoloration. A bio-based crosslinker using food-grade compounds could provide biocompatible crosslinking at a fraction of genipin's cost.
Market Size
$6.1B
Regulatory Drivers
FDA 21 CFR 820 Quality System Regulation for medical devices; ISO 10993 series (biological evaluation of medical devices); EU MDR 2017/745 biocompatibility requirements; USP <87> biological reactivity in vitro; USP <88> biological reactivity in vivo; ICH Q3D elemental impurities; Japan PMDA medical device guidelines
Enterprise Interest
No enterprise interest recorded yet. Companies can indicate their volume and urgency to help guide research priorities.
Success Criteria
Achieve tunable storage modulus G' from 100 Pa to 50 kPa by varying crosslinker concentration, cell viability >90% per ISO 10993-5 MTT assay (compared to <70% for glutaraldehyde at equivalent crosslink density), and hydrogel stability >14 days in PBS at 37°C
Equipment Needed
Rheometer with temperature control (cone-plate or parallel plate), universal testing machine with compression platens, cell culture facility (BSC, CO2 incubator, inverted microscope), fluorescence microscope for live/dead imaging, microplate reader for MTT assay, HPLC for residual analysis, lyophilizer for dry weight measurements, gelatin, chitosan, glutaraldehyde and genipin for controls
Existing References
Reference list will be published with protocols.
Protected Research Content
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