| Polymers are widely used in biomedical engineering. Among these, protein polymers like elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) have emerged with multiple novel applications. In this study, we have evaluated the potential application for ELPs to develop reversible adhesives for use with medical bandages. A current limitation of bandages is that they continue to adhere even with the bandage must be removed, and for patients with fragile skin bandage removal can actually create new wounds. To overcome this problem, new bio-adhesive materials are necessary. ELP protein polymers phase separate above a transition temperature, which can be tuned by changing their amino acid composition. In order to understand how ELP polymers might be used to generate thermally-reversible adhesives, my thesis has focused on investigating their physical chemistry as well as their modification by adhesive polymers. In the first part of this study, efforts were made to figure out the change in entropy during the transition process for various kinds of ELPs by using differential scanning calorimetry. In the second part of the study, emulsion polymerization method was used to polymerize ELP with acrylate based pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs). From current results, it seems the delta H in transition process of ELPs is not only dependent on the type of guest residues but also on the length of ELPs. The polymerization process has not been successful yet. In the end, future directions are also discussed. |
