Biomedical Polymers Laboratory

Prof. Daniel Cohn
Head of Laboratory
Biomedical Polimers Laboratory
School of Applied Science
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, 91904, Israel
Tel: 972-2-6584520
Fax: 972-2-6513755
email: danielc@vms.huji.ac.il

There is a wide variety of polymers which are used in the human body, in direct contact with its organs, tissues and fluids. These materials are called Biomedical Polymers. The use of polymers in a diversity of clinical disciplines, such as orthopedics, plastic surgery, ophtalmology and cardiovascular surgery, poses unique and extremely severe requirements, where chemical, physical and biological issues are inherently interrelated.

Research Areas

The research activities of the group focus on four main areas:
Biodegradable polymers - Design, synthesis and development of new biodegradable polymeric systems

Tissue engineering - Tailoring of polymers for scaffolding and regeneration of functional human tissue, especially arterial reconstruction.

Biomedical composites - Fibre reinforced polymers for hard and soft tissue implants and prostheses.

Plasma surface treatments - Surface modification of polymers by means of polymerization or functionalization under plasma conditions, for biomedical purposes.

A representative Research Project

ENGINEERING A SELECTIVELY BIODEGRADABLE ARTERIAL PROSTHESIS

In light of the serious problems posed by the arterial prostheses used to replace diseased or damaged arteries in humans, my group (in collaboration with Prof. G. Marom and his group) have developed a novel, selectively biodegradable vascular graft, specifically engineered to perform as the gradually degrading scaffold for the regeneration of autologous arterial tissue. The design of these prostheses is based on the principles of Composite Materials Science and capitalizes on the superior properties of a new family of biodegradable polymers designed and synthesized by our group. This novel arterial prosthesis exhibits excellent handling and suturability characteristics as well as enhanced burst strength. Also, due to its biodegradable constituent, these grafts combine minimal intraoperative blood loss with high healing porosity. Furthermore, when implanted in the canine carotid, these prostheses revealed a luminal surface with enhanced thromboresistance and very successful healing and incorporation processes.

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	Biodegradable polymers - Design, synthesis and development of new biodegradable polymeric systems
	Tissue engineering - Tailoring of polymers for scaffolding and regeneration of functional human tissue, especially arterial reconstruction.
	Biomedical composites - Fibre reinforced polymers for hard and soft tissue implants and prostheses.
	Plasma surface treatments - Surface modification of polymers by means of polymerization or functionalization under plasma conditions, for biomedical purposes.