Christian Radwansky

Bachelor student

Electrofabrication of porous polymer films for biomedical applications

 

Supervisors:  Muhammad Asim Akhtar, Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini

Polymer films/membranes find a wide application in the biomedical field. Chitosan is mainly used due to its bioactivity and biodegradability. Porous films especially with interconnective pores are relevant for tissue engineering applications. Research is being carried out on how such porous films can be produced by means of electrophoretic deposition (EPD). EPD is a versatile and widely used process to deposit polymers and particles at room temperature [1]. In this study the EPD process will be used to manufacture chitosan based free-standing porous films modified with therapeutic and phytotherapeutic agents [2]. Furthermore, the effect of processing parameters on the properties of the produced film will be investigated. In this way, conclusions can be drawn on the suitability of EPD to produce such films for specific applicatios.

[1] Avcu E, Baştan FE, Abdullah HZ, Rehman MA, Avcu YY, Boccaccini AR. Electrophoretic deposition of chitosan-based composite coatings for biomedical applications: A review. Progress in Materials Science. 2019,103, 69-108.

[2] Akhtar MA, Ilyas K, Dlouhý I, Siska F, Boccaccini AR. Electrophoretic Deposition of Copper (II)–Chitosan Complexes for Antibacterial Coatings. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2020, 21( 7), 2637.