July 26, 2013

Polymer Ribbons for Better Healing



Freiburg researchers develop hydrogels for tissue regeneration that can be fine-tuned to fit any body part

A new kind of gel that promotes the proper organization of human cells was developed by Prof. Prasad Shastri of the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry and BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies Excellence Cluster at the University of Freiburg and BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies graduate students Aurelien Forget and Jon Christensen in collaboration with Dr. Steffen Lüdeke of the Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences. These hydrogels made of agarose, a polymer of sugar molecules derived from sea algae, mimic many aspects of the environment of cells in the human body.