Speaker：Pro. Xiao-Xia Zhu, University of Montreal

Title: Molecular and Macromolecular Hydrogels and Marginal Solubility

Time：March 24th, 9:00 AM

Venue:Lecture Room 324, AISMST

Abstract:

Molecular and polymeric hydrogels are useful materials for a variety of applications including the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. Bile acids are natural compounds exist in the body of human and most animals. In their salt form or after suitable chemical modifications, they can interact with each other in a specific solvent to form gels with self-assemble fibrous network, thus the molecular gels. These nanofibers are separated at low concentrations but entangle with each other at high concentrations to form hydrogels with well-dispersed and randomly-arranged 3D fibrous networks. The results point to a marginal solubility condition needed for gelation in water. The molecular hydrogels may be potentially useful in tissue engineering, cell culture, and mechano-optical sensing.

Brief Biography：

Xiao-Xia Zhu is a professor of chemistry at University of Montreal. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Polymeric Biomaterials. His team works on the research and development of new polymers for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications, including degradable polymers, hydrogels, drug delivery systems and dental composites. His primary interests focus on the use of natural compounds for the preparation of novel polymeric materials with green chemistry approaches. He is a co-author of over 300 scientific publications and several patents. He also received the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Award from the Chemical Institute of Canada.