Yesterday I spent my first day at Arizona State University.
On Tuesday, my sister, an Arizona State junior majoring in biomedical engineering (my intended major), invited me to shadow her throughout the day when I was not in lab. At 8 a.m., I attended her Biomaterials class with her where I learned about the degradation of three different materials: metals, ceramics, and polymers. Fortunately, the part of the lecture about the degradation of of polymers related to the research done at Dr. Vernon's Biomaterials lab, the lab where I am performing my senior research project. In addition, after I finished my time in lab, I visited my sister's Micro-computing class and learned more about circuits.
After her first class, I went to lab and talked to my mentor, Dr. Overstreet. He first updated me on the research that has gone on in the lab ever since I left over the summer. Afterwards, he gave me more information and specificity about my project.
I will be studying the effects of different acids and salts on the hydrogels created in the lab. Over the next week, I will be creating a research plan deciding which salts to use and calculating the quantities of all the materials. Hopefully, next week, I will be able to really begin my project.
And here are the pictures of the inside and outside of the building where my lab is, ISTB1.
Russell Llave
Picture 1: http://www.kpff.com/portfolio/project/arizona-state-university-istb-1
picture 2: https://cfo.asu.edu/fdm-leed-istb1
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ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful setting! How cool that you are able to actively apply what is learned in the classroom to the lab.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I am unfamiliar with hydrogels... When performing an MRI, why would it preferable for the gel to be released over the course of several days as opposed to being fully released on the same day as the scan(s) being performed?
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DeleteThat's a good question.
DeleteI'm not completely sure of the answer (I will ask my mentor when I see him next), but I have a guess. If a someone wants to perform an MRI over a long amount of time, rather than having multiple injections, a hydrogel that has a longer release may be beneficial.
Hey Russell! This was a real cool post. One question -- does the hydrogel form a semi-solid, gel-like exterior around the drug and aid temperature-dependent delivery/release in that way, or does it exist as liquid (below the LCTS../mixed with the drug) within a harder, traditional pill kind of casing? (I'm thinking of pills you swallow, but not sure if hydrogels are applied for those..)
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DeleteHi Kathleen! The hydrogel itself exists as a liquid below LCST and becomes solid above the LCST. When I first visited this lab, Dr. Overstreet had a plastic container filled with a hydrogel. At room temperature, it was a clear liquid. He then placed the gel into a 40C water bath and soon the clear liquid was replaced with this white semi-solid material. If the gel is mixed with the drug prior to LCST, at LCST, bonds are broken within the gel, causing the molecule to collapse and trapping the drug within the compact structure of the gel.
DeleteI don't really know if I answered your question...but I hope this helps.
This is really interesting! You are receiving a really in-depth understanding of hydrogels by both attending classes and conducting lab research.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering, what diseases are the antibiotics tobramycin and vancomycin used to treat?
I'm not sure. I think they're used to treat various infectious diseases. At the lab, they mostly focus on using those antibiotics to fight bio-films.
DeleteIt sounds like you've done a lot over the course of the week! This question may sound bit dumb, but why is the continuous release of a drug more desirable than introducing a drug to the body all at once? Is a gradual release desirable for all drugs or only specific ones?
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work!
It's not a dumb question at all.
DeleteI think it's best to think of an alternative, such as a pill. A pill enters the body and a drug is released throughout the bloodstream. However, that drug's effect only lasts so long and often requires a person to take multiple pills. This can be problematic because people can forget to take pills or even worse, people can get addicted, particularly with drugs such as morphine. On the other hand, a hydrogel only needs to be administered once and over time, it can administer as much drug as numerous pills would.
I hope that answered your question.