Smart Wound Dressings with Diagnostic and Antimicrobial Capabilities (ref. BAP-2024-663)

The project involves the following research groups:

• The Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials Group is part of UGent, Belgium, in the heart of Europe. The PBM Group consists of 2 professors, 6 post-docs and > 20 PhD students. The group is active in the development of polymers for mainly biomedical applications including tissue engineering (a.o. orthopaedic, ocular, adipose, cardiovascular, meniscus, etc.), drug delivery, wound healing, on-chip applications, etc. The main research pillars are focusing on polymer synthesis, functionalization, processing and characterization of the polymers as well as the processed structures. Website: https://pbmugent.eu/

• The research group of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering is part of the KU Leuven, Belgium. The group consists of 3 professors, 3 post-doc and ~15 PhD students. The group aims to design new biomaterials that enable an improved therapeutic outcome for a variety of biomedical applications. By applying an interdisciplinary approach on research from materials science, chemistry, biology and medicine, we develop innovative processing techniques for nanostructured and biofunctionalized materials. Website: https://www.mtm.kuleuven.be/english/research/SIEM/BIO

The project fits perfectly within both research groups. The student will be performing his research in both research groups / both universities. The main institution will be UGent and administrative and financial procedures of UGent apply.

Project

Chronic wounds are nowadays still a serious concern in healthcare and require new and improved treatments. 

One of the major issues present in the open wound management is bacterial infection. 

To tackle this issue, within the proposed project, a novel and ‘smart’ polymer-based wound dressing will be developed which maintains the moisture balance and holds additionally both diagnostic and antimicrobial properties.

Nanovesicles will be created whereby part will be loaded with a self-quenched dye and part with an antimicrobial compound and will break open in a controllable way when required. 

The nanovesicles will be incorporated in a ‘nature-derived’, photo-crosslinked polymer based wound dressing. 

The wound dressing will be processed using co-axial electrospinning to create nanofibers with a core-shell morphology. The dressings will be optimized to tune their swelling and mechanical properties as well as their diagnostic and antimicrobial capabilities.

Profile

We expect the PhD-candidate to hold a master's degree in either chemistry, engineering, biomedical engineering or equivalent and graduated with distinction. A profound interest and knowledge in polymer synthesis and processing and chemical & biological characterization and a strong interest in health science is highly encouraged. 

Additionally, the candidate should:

• be willing to work in an interdisciplinary and international team

• have a creative mind and have good problem solving skills

• be a team player

• have an excellent English proficiency

Offer

• The opportunity to obtain a doctoral degree

• An exciting research environment, working on an interdisciplinary topic combining chemistry and biomedical engineering

• An UGent and KU Leuven affiliation, two of the most innovative universities of Europe 

• Take part in international collaborations and conferences

• The possibility to become a world-class researcher

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Arn Mignon, mail: arn.mignon@kuleuven.be or Prof. dr. Sandra Van Vlierberghe, mail: sandra.vanvlierberghe@ugent.be

Submit your CV and motivation letter in the online platform.

You can apply for this job no later than October 31, 2024 via the online application tool