Wound healing is a complex biological process, with one of the most crucial phases being the remodeling of the tissues, which centers around the collagen present in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Degradable collagen mimics can be used to enhance and aid internal wound healing capabilities and to deliver therapeutics to local wound sites. Electrospinning natural and synthetic polymers has produced nanofibrous mats that mimic the architecture of the ECM for use in biomedical applications. Traditionally, the Hamilton lab has electrospun antimicrobial chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with novel, non-degradable collagen mimics to produce nanofiber scaffolds. Alginate, a natural polymer, can also be electrospun to produce materials for wound healing. The innate groups in alginate lend themselves towards modification to produce a biomimetic and degradable polymer that can be electrospun. Using a new concerted synthesis for the modification of alginate allows for the attachment of four functional groups via amide coupling and can be facilely conducted in an undergraduate research laboratory. Traditional step-wise synthesis methods are time consuming and more difficult to complete with the time constraints of typical undergraduate research programs. The functional groups selected for use in this project were of similar structure and property to the major amino acid components of human collagen. This product can also be oxidized to enhance alginate degradability. The modified alginate was co-spun with PVA to create nanofibrous scaffolding. The physical properties of these materials were characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Cellular responses to these alginate-based fiber mats were examined including cell viability, proliferation, and migration. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis was used to compare the efficiency of functional group attachments of this synthetic approach as compared to a traditional stepwise modification of this polymer. Future studies include analyzing antimicrobial properties and <i>in vivo</i> assays.

Developing a new approach to modifying alginate for use in biomedical applications

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