Florencia Diaz
Florencia Diaz, Ing.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Chair of Material Science (Biomaterials)
Ulrich-Schalk-Str. 3
91056 Erlangen
- Phone number: +49 9131 85-69613
- Email: florencia.diaz@fau.de
- Website: http://www.biomat.techfak.uni-erlangen.de
PhD student
Novel porous natural-origin polymeric patches for rotator cuff tendon repair
Supervisor: Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini, Prof. Nicholas Forsyth (Keele University)
This project is part of a collaboration with Prof. Nicholas Forsyth, Keele University (UK), in the framework of Horizon 2020 “Perspectives for Future Innovation in Tendon Repair” (P4 FIT) European Joint Doctorate consortium (EU H2020-MCSA-ITN-EJD-2020). The objective of this research is to use both freeze drying and porogen leaching techniques to develop natural polymer patches that can be used in the treatment of rotator cuff tears, which affects approximately 50% of all adults over the age of 60. Individual goals include the optimization of polymer blends in order to obtain scaffolds with optimal biochemical and mechanical properties; investigation into the use of non toxic crosslinking agents; and optimization of process parameters. In vitro biocompatibility under teno-inductive conditions will be investigated.