Sustainable design of polymeric biomaterials for biolubrication, bioadhesion and antifouling applications: From the intermolecular interactions to the bulk properties

I propose a sustainable and multidisciplinary research program at the interface of material chemistry and biomedical engineering. To comply with biocompatibility and sustainability requirements for designing biomaterials, this research program exclusively focuses on biosourced materials, which are materials that are extracted from natural sources and possess unique and undiscovered functionalities. The proposed research projects target discovering novel materials and generating knowledge for three fundamental scientific problems: biolubrication, bioadhesion, and antifouling, thereby contributing to health and well-being of millions of Canadians who suffer from long-lasting medical conditions associated with osteoarthritis (biolubrication), chronic and slow-healing wounds (bioadhesion) and implant-induced infection (antifouling). Our short-term objectives for tackling the problem of biolubrication is to discover materials and methods to produce injectable and optimally crosslinked biosourced polymers that can lubricate solid surfaces with a friction coefficient of < 10-3, as required for human joint lubrication. For bioadhesion, we target designing bioadhesive hydrogels that can provide strong adhesion under water and possess optimal mechanical properties that allow them to accommodate dynamic motions of tissues. For antifouling coatings, we propose a unique layer-by-layer deposition of adhesive and antifouling biosourced macromolecules that can produce robust and durable antifouling coatings for biomedical implants. Most biosourced biomaterials that are currently being developed for biolubrication, antifouling coating and bioadhesion are either synthetic and lack the required biocompatibility requirements, as advised by regulatory agencies, or they significantly underperform compared to the current state-of-the-art synthetic materials. By following our short-term objectives, we attempt to design materials or develop strategies to close the performance gap between practical biocompatible biosourced materials and the current state-of-the-art synthetic materials for these three applications. Training highly qualified personnel (HQP) in this program will include hands-on experience in biotechnology industry-oriented projects, developing skills in working with state-of-the-art equipment used in the biotechnology industry, participating in entrepreneurship workshops, and growing their professional network at the national and international levels. Collectively, this research program aims at preparing HQP to be well-equipped with necessary skillset to contribute to Canada's biotechnology industry and academia. In this research program, we ground equality, diversity, inclusiveness and accessibility (EDIA) in a researched framework to ensure that the EDIA activities that we are prioritizing are purposeful, balanced and measurable, and to ensure our commitment to diversity and inclusiveness is long-term and embedded in our core strategies going forward.