Project Overview

This project is being done as part of Drexel University's freshman engineering design curriculum. The task is to create a hydrogel using sodium alginate that is structured in such a way as to control the release of therapeutics over time.

Goals

The goal of this project is to control the release rate of a therapeutic through the manipulation of the structure of alginate hydrogel. Our group decided to create a prototype of a wound dressing, which will be used specifically to treat first- and second-degree burns. This will require a process including many phases, with examples including research, design, construction, testing, etc.

Requirements

The major requirement of this project is the use of alginate hyrdogel, as the manipulation of this material to serve a purpose is the central goal of this project. Additionally, the prototype is required to be effective in controlling the rate of release of a theraputic agent. The controlled release is expected to allow the maintenance of a safe and effective concentration of the therapeutic agent in the patient's system over an extended period of time. This concentration is to be determined using the drug's therapeutic index.

Comments

Week Nine Progress

The progress underwent during week nine of the hydrogel restructuring module entailed rectifying the errors made during the first and second testing rounds conducted during week seven. The results of first and second testing trials revealed egregious errors upon obtaining the results of the spectrophotometry of week eight. The spectrophotometry results delineated a consistent decrease in fluorescent intensity over time. Nonetheless, an ideal graph would illustrate a sustained increase in fluorescent intensity, thereby paralleling an increase in the percentage of therapeutic that is released. The increase in fluorescent intensity which had resulted from the week seven testing may be attributed to the experimental errors which occurred during the construction of hydrogel samples, and are described in full detail in the Week Eight Progress Report. During week nine, new hydrogel samples were generated in a comparable fashion to the construction of samples during the second phase of t...

Week One Progress

Figure 1: Diagram of preliminary design The culmination of the hydrogel modulation design will yield a hydrogel wound dressing utilized for the therapeutic treatment of first-degree and second-degree exterior burns. A physical prototype of the hydrogel wound dressing will be produced by precipitating food-grade sodium alginate in a calcium chloride solution. The reaction yields spheres of low-density gel surrounded by a thin gelatinous membrane. The construction of an alginate dressing necessitates ionic cross-linking of the alginate solution with calcium ions, as to form the gel component. Both the high-density and low- density hydrogel layers will be generated in unison, before undergoing the freeze-drying process as to produce porous sheets. The physical prototype will be accompanied by a computer generated model of the hydrogel wound dressing, as evidenced in figure 1. The required components to construct the hydrogel adhesive were determined and subsequently purchased. The r...

Week Two Progress

The objectives of the week two lab consisted of preparing for the construction of the therapeutic-infused hydrogel adhesive. As such, a bill of materials was devised to determine the requisite laboratory supplies. It was determined that chemical components and laboratory glassware would be required to conduct the precipitation reaction between calcium chloride and sodium alginate. As the therapeutic agent, to be injected into the hydrogel 'beads', has not yet been determined, a comparable placebo had not been established. Nonetheless, each team member is to conduct research to determine an appropriate therapeutic for the hydrogel adhesive before a comparable placebo may be determined. Research regarding a possible therapeutic agent is to be completed before the week three lab. Once a therapeutic agent is agreed upon, a placebo, of comparable physical properties, will be ordered. The week two activities were completed in preparation for the construction of a preliminary design ...

Group 076-11: Modulating Hydrogel Structure for Therapeutic Release

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