Graduation Year

2023

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Biochemistry

Reader 1

Bethany Caulkins

Reader 2

Mary Hatcher-Skeers

Rights Information

© YYYY Lola Lane Uliano

Abstract

Biomaterials are substances engineered to interact with biological systems. They are commonly used in medicine to support, enhance, restore, or replace biological tissue. This study aims to investigate the biocompatibility and biodegradability of biomaterials to reduce rates of inflammation and rejection of implantable medical devices and artificial organ/tissue implants. To improve biocompatibility, we propose to “disguise” materials using a collagen surface coating to promote cell adhesion. We hypothesize that our coating will increase adhesion of biomaterials to neighboring cells and tissue and in turn increase biocompatibility. We propose that coated materials will be recognized as a part of the biological system because of collagen’s abundance in mammalian tissue and cells. The implications of increased compatibility would be reduced inflammation and in turn, lower rates of medical device and artificial tissue/organ rejection. In this study, we will also investigate collagen’s effect on the biodegradability of implantable biomaterials. We hypothesize that coated materials will show decreased rates of degradation compared to uncoated materials due to reduced changes in the surface properties of materials coated in collagen. The implications of decreased biodegradability would mean a reduction in replacement and removal procedures of implantable medical devices and artificial organ/tissue implants.

Additional Files
Lola Uliano Thesis Poster.pptx (2799 kB)
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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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