Technologies

Because their properties are similar to those of human tissues, hydrogels have been widely used as implantable medical devices. There is a medical need for hydrogels that can be put into place through minimally invasive means and those that solidify under physiological conditions. A native chemical ligation method was previously developed that achieved this cross-linking, but the process released a by-product that was potentially toxic to cells. Northwestern researchers have reworked this native chemical ligation method to achieve a single product without the release of toxic smaller molecules. The hydrogels composed of these products can be used for a variety of medical applications, including tissue repair, wound healing, drug delivery, device coating, and biosensors.