The Turng Laboratory
Faculty > Lih-Sheng (Tom) Turng
Lih-Sheng (Tom) Turng
Professor and Co-Director, Polymer Engineering Center
turng@engr.wsic.edu
Aligned Research Focus
Tissue engineering scaffolds and drug delivery
Research Description
My research aims to develop a novel process capable of mass producing complex, truly 3D, biodegradable polymer scaffolds featuring high porosity and interconnectivity as well as desirable mechanical and/or electroactive properties without the use of organic solvents. The idea is to create synergy by capitalizing on (1) mass production and shaping capabilities of microcellular injection molding, (2) co-continuous blending of a biodegradable polymer with a water-soluble polymer for interconnectivity, (3) water-soluble (porogen) particles for high porosity, (4) tunable mechanical properties by incorporating biocompatible fillers, (5) removal of sacrificial materials using particulate leaching techniques, and (6) molded-in micro-channels as the “superhighways” to reduce the leaching time and facilitate diffusion. Proper pore size and interconnectivity in the scaffolds can be controlled by the dimensions of particulates and by the blending morphology of polymers. Biodegradable electroactive polymers in the scaffold will serve as an actuator to foster cell proliferation, assembly, and differentiation, or as a sensor for read-out through electrical and electro-chemical-mechanical stimulation. Supercritical fluids (instead of solvents) will serve as plasticizers and lubricants, thereby imparting moldability to blends containing ultra high filler content and allowing the use of low processing temperatures which are desirable for temperature-sensitive biodegradable polymers and embedded medicines.
Selected References
Kramschuster, A. and Turng, L. S., “An Injection Molding Process for Manufacturing Highly Porous and Interconnected Biodegradable Polymer Matrices for Use as Tissue Engineering Scaffolds,” Journal of Biomedical Materials Research: Part B - Applied Biomaterials, in press.
Kramschuster, A. and Turng, L. S., “Fabrication of Tissue Engineering Scaffolds,” Plastics Engineering Encyclopedia, to be published by Elsevier Publisher.
Kramschuster, A. and Turng, L. S., “Injection Molding of Highly Porous Biodegradable Matrices,” Polymer Processing Society Annual Meeting (PPS-24), Salerno, Italy, June 15-19, 2008.
Kramschuster, A. and Turng, L. S., “Highly Porous Injection-Molded Biodegradable Polymer Foams for Tissue Engineering Scaffolds,” Biofoams 2007, Capri, Italy, September 26-28, 2007.
Turng, L. S. and Kramschuster, A., “Injection Molding of Biodegradable Tissue Engineering Scaffolds without the use of organic solvents,” patent pending, 2007.