Antibacterial and Antifouling Properties of Stimuli Responsive Materials
Stimuli responsive materials respond to the changes in the environment (pH, ionic strength, temperature, light and catalytic activity of enzymes) and in turn alter their macromolecular structure to provide a measurable response. These biomaterials have found exciting applications in various biomedical and nanotechnology fields including drug delivery, bio-sensing and regenerative medicine. This talk introduces new types of biomimetic and stimuli-responsive polymers and peptides that are derived from vitamins and proteins. Vitamin B5 analogous polymeric scaffolds and Angiogenin 4 derived peptides developed in our laboratory exhibit remarkable reduction sensitive and ion responsive behavior at physiological conditions. The applications of these biomimetics including their potential as antifouling and antibacterial materials will be discussed.
Biography
Dr. Ahmed is Associate Professor in Department of Chemistry and Faculty of Engineering at University of Prince Edward Island. She acquired her PhD from University of Alberta, in Chemical Engineering, and worked as post-doctoral fellow, at California Institute of Technology and University of Toronto. The research themes in Ahmed laboratory are focused on the development of controlled release biomaterials and well-defined peptide based therapeutics to cure drug resistance disorders. She has co-authored of 48 publications, 53 conference proceedings and 15 book chapters on the topic of drug delivery. Ahmed is also a recipient of NSERC New Frontiers and Canadian Cancer Society Emerging Scholar Awards.
