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The development of novel high-performance hydrogel materials
Are you interested in designing novel hydrogel materials? We have a project available that focuses on formulating high-performance hydrogels for load-bearing applications.
Hydrogels are soft materials capable of absorbing and retaining large amounts of water. Microscopically, they consist of a three-dimensional network of polymer chains. They find applications in contact lenses, wound dressings, and diapers, and are also widely investigated for versatile biomedical applications. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in high-performance hydrogels with the incentive to mimic highly stiff yet recoverable biological tissues, such as cartilage. However, formulating hydrogel materials for such load-bearing applications remains challenging. To address this, we are developing slide-ring gels, a unique hydrogel material with slidable cross-links that exhibit promising properties. Through this project, you will have the opportunity to learn a series of different techniques. The project involves the synthesis and analysis of hydrogel building blocks, as well as material characterization using various methods. You will also learn to independently design, carry out experiments, and analyze the data. If you are curious and passionate about developing novel materials, we encourage you to apply. As the project might involve chemical synthesis, prior knowledge in synthesis would be beneficial, but not required.
Hydrogels are soft materials capable of absorbing and retaining large amounts of water. Microscopically, they consist of a three-dimensional network of polymer chains. They find applications in contact lenses, wound dressings, and diapers, and are also widely investigated for versatile biomedical applications. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in high-performance hydrogels with the incentive to mimic highly stiff yet recoverable biological tissues, such as cartilage. However, formulating hydrogel materials for such load-bearing applications remains challenging. To address this, we are developing slide-ring gels, a unique hydrogel material with slidable cross-links that exhibit promising properties. Through this project, you will have the opportunity to learn a series of different techniques. The project involves the synthesis and analysis of hydrogel building blocks, as well as material characterization using various methods. You will also learn to independently design, carry out experiments, and analyze the data. If you are curious and passionate about developing novel materials, we encourage you to apply. As the project might involve chemical synthesis, prior knowledge in synthesis would be beneficial, but not required.