Bruce P. Lee Publishes on a Model Polymer System

Bruce P Lee Catechol Graphic

Hao Meng, Yuan Liu and Bruce P. Lee have co-authored “Model Polymer System for Investigating the Generation of Hydrogen Peroxide and its Biological Responses during the Crosslinking of Mussel Adhesive Moiety” in Acta Biomaterialia.

To harvest the unique underwater adhesive properties of mussel adhesive proteins, scientists have designed various synthetic mimics of these proteins to create novel biomedical adhesives, drug carriers, and tissue engineering scaffolds.

The team designed a model system to systemically characterize the biocompatibility and biological responses associated with the byproduct (i.e., hydrogen peroxide) generated during the curing process of biomimetic adhesive moieties.

Hydrogen peroxide is an important biological molecule with multiple biological functions (i.e., wound healing, disinfectant, etc.). This is the first report to characterize the release of hydrogen peroxide during the curing process of the mussel adhesive moieties; however, the biocompatibility of these biomimetic materials have not been fully characterized.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2016.10.016