Abstract:
Nano/micro-fabrication is remarkably effective for tailoring materials with desirable functionalities. Our recent work has shown that surface nanofabrication can effectively alter virus adhesion. These effects were ascribed to the presence of nanoholes, which were inaccessible to the virions due to the unique surface topographical parameters and the surface chemistry. Smart design of a surface’s chemical composition and nanostructure is anticipated to offer a feasible solution to improve mitigations for controlling viral adhesion and transmission to and from food contact surfaces. We also fabricated CNT incorporated biocomposite fibers by electrospinning. It was found that the addition of a minute amount of CNT effectively improved protein fiber alignment and mechanical strength while retained high biocompatibility, biodegradability, and decreased fiber diameter, mimicking native collagen fibers in the matrix of connective tissues. It also granted the fibers electrical conductivity. Our in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that the biocomposite fibers effectively mediated electrical stimulation of fibroblasts from patients with chronic wounds or connective tissue disorder, favorable for tissue repair. The developed material and method offer a simple, direct, and effective way to remedy the patients’ dysfunctional cells for personalized cell therapeutic treatment.
Short Bio: Dr. Rong R. Wang is a professor of chemistry and director of International Center for Sensor Science and Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology. She received her B.S degree in Physics from Jilin University, and received her PhD in Chemistry from University of Tokyo. Prior to joining Illinois Tech, she was the Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Dr. Wang has expertise in utilizing biophysical and surface chemistry approaches to develop novel methods, materials and devices for disease diagnosis, monitoring and treatment. In an NICHD supported project, she has collaborated with urogynecologists in Chicago land to correlate the nanoscopic-microscopic features of patients’ biopsies (lab research) to the degree of pelvic organ prolapse (clinical data), and developed the strategy of fabricating biocomposite fibers to remedy patients’ dysfunctional cells for personalized cell therapeutic treatment. In an FDA supported project, she identified the key features of surfaces of food-contact materials that invoke preferential virus adhesion, and is working toward the design of a surface’s chemical composition and nanostructure to offer a feasible solution of controlling viral adhesion and transmission to and from food contact surfaces. She is the lead PI of an NIDCR grant on developing a portable salivary sensor device for diagnosis & monitoring of periodontal disease based on ML predictive models established with data from sensor outputs and clinical measurements.
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