New Directions in Photopolymerizable Biomaterials
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New Directions in
Photopolymerizable Biomaterials Kristi S. Anseth and Jason A. Burdick
Abstract This article is based on the Outstanding Young Investigator Award presentation given by Kristi S. Anseth at the 2001 MRS Spring Meeting on April 17, 2001, in San Francisco. Anseth was recognized for “innovative work in polymeric biomaterials for drug delivery, bone and cartilage repair, and tissue engineering, and for outstanding leadership potential in this interdisciplinary field of materials research.” Photopolymerization provides many advantages as a technique for the fabrication of biomaterials. Temporal and spatial control, along with the diversity in material properties found with photopolymerizable materials, are advantageous in the biomaterials industry. For instance, multifunctional anhydride monomers form highly cross-linked surface-eroding networks directly in bone defects. These networks have good mechanical properties that are maintained with degradation and have the potential to restore tissue-like properties to bone during the healing process. Additionally, cartilage-forming cells photoencapsulated in hydrogel networks secrete an extracellular matrix as the hydrogel is resorbed and may provide a treatment alternative for cartilage defects that do not heal spontaneously. Finally, transdermal polymerization (photopolymerization through the skin) of multifunctional monomers is a noninvasive technique that is being developed for tissue regeneration and wound-healing applications. Keywords: biodegradation, photopolymerization, tissue engineering.
Introduction Photopolymerization is a technology with a history dating back to the time of the ancient Egyptians, who used sunlightinduced cross-linking during the preparation of linen used for mummification.1 Today, scientists and engineers have dramatically advanced photoinitiated polymerfabrication processes, and these advances are enabling the development of numerous high-technology fields. For example, nearly every integrated circuit, newspaper, and optical fiber is manufactured in a process that utilizes photopolymerization or photolithographic technology. As a material processing method, photopolymerization affords many advantages, including high reaction rates at room temperature, spatial and temporal control of the initiation process, low energy input, and chemical versatility. These advantages have led to its prominence as one of the most rapidly expanding methods of material pro-
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duction. We believe that one area with particularly high potential is the fabrication of biomaterials. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of leaders in the polymeric biomaterials community (e.g., R. Langer, N.A. Peppas,
B.D. Ratner, J. Hubbell, and D. Tirrell), the application of biomaterials in medicine has advanced from a trial-and-error selection of off-the-shelf materials originally designed for nonbiological applications, to the rational design of biomaterials to achieve desired and tailorable properties including degradation, transport, and cellular interactions. Fro
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