About the Project
The mechanical bond is a linkage between molecular components that combines the robustness of the covalent bond with dynamics of supramolecular interactions. Mechanical bonds are broadly used in sensing, catalysis and artificial molecular machines, but perhaps the most promising applications is in mechanically interlocked materials.[1] When mechanical bonds are incorporated into polymers, it results in drastically improved materials properties and new features like stimuli-responsiveness and…
self-healing. To date, using mechanical bonds in biological materials applications is not common despite their potential.
This joint PhD project between the Universities of Warwick and Birmingham will seek to address this.[2] We will use state-of-the-art mechanical bond synthesis to make interlocked biomaterials.[3] We will develop polymeric systems where we put macrocycles around polymer backbones to modify physical materials properties such as solubility, improve mechanical performance and add functionality such as stimuli-responsiveness and self-healing. The PhD project will (1) explore synthetic approaches to create novel mechanically interlocked biomaterials, (2) study the self-assembly properties of synthesised biomaterials and (3) demonstrate their applications geared towards tissue engineering. Focus will be on synthesis and characterisation of biomaterials, but you will also work on self-assembly studies and investigations aimed towards tissue engineering applications (cell adhesion, proliferation, migration etc). We are particularly interested in studying the behaviour of our materials with stem cells, as polyrotaxanes are known to modulate cell differentiation in exceptional fashion.[2] This project will generate an entirely new class of interlocked biomaterials with massive potential for translational healthcare applications.
- Nat. Rev. Mat. 2021, 6, 508-530.
- Chem, 2023, 9, 1378-1412.
- ChemSystemsChem, 2024, 6, e202300048
