Barrier properties of biological hydrogel filters

本项目的目的是在体外表征两种重要的生物水凝胶：玻璃体水凝胶和神经丝凝胶的屏障特性。这项研究的一个关键方面是阐明静电相互作用对水凝胶内粒子扩散的调节作用。我们将使用具有明确属性的测试颗粒，如颗粒大小和表面电荷，并将量化它们在水凝胶环境中的扩散行为。从玻璃体和神经丝凝胶的实验中获得的见解将与以前关于颗粒在粘液和细胞外基质中扩散的结果进行比较，以帮助我们确定在生物水凝胶中建立选择性过滤的生化关键基序。到目前为止，生物水凝胶的屏障功能主要是由医学研究人员在活体动物模型或复杂的体外组织中进行的。然而，在这些复杂的系统中，很难将观察到的效应与它们的微观来源联系起来。在这里，我们将通过研究(部分)纯化和重组的水凝胶系统来克服这一限制，这些系统将使我们能够比使用天然样品更广泛地控制实验条件。该项目的预期结果不仅将使我们更好地了解控制生物水凝胶中扩散的物理原理，而且还将为开发具有生物医学应用的新型药物递送剂或水凝胶确定设计策略，如植入涂层或人造组织。因此，该项目将在聚合物物理、细胞生物学、医学工程和药物输送之间建立重要的联系。

The aim of this project is to characterize the barrier properties of two important biological hydrogels in vitro: vitreous humor and neurofilament gels. A key aspect of this study is to elucidate the contribution of electrostatic interactions to the regulation of particle diffusion inside the hydrogels. We will use test particles with well-defined properties such as particle size and surface charge and will quantify their diffusion behavior in the hydrogel environments. The insights obtained from the experiments with vitreous humor and neurofilament gels will be compared with previous results on particle diffusion in mucus and extracellular matrix to help us identify the biochemical key motifs that establish selective filtering in biological hydrogels.So far, the barrier function of biological hydrogels has mainly been studied by medical researchers in vivo using animal models or complex ex vivo tissues. However, in those complex systems it is highly difficult to relate the observed effects to their microscopic origins. Here, we will overcome this limitation by studying (partially) purified and reconstituted hydrogel systems which will give us a much broader range of control over the experimental conditions than it is possible with native samples. The anticipated results from this project will not only provide us with a better understanding of the physical principles that regulate diffusion in biological hydrogels, but will also pinpoint design strategies for the development of new drug delivery agents or hydrogels with biomedical applications such as implant coatings or artificial tissues. Therefore, this project will establish an important link between polymer physics, cell biology, medical engineering and drug delivery.