Amphiphilic polysaccharide hydrogels for biomedical
This technology describes new ways to chemically modify natural polysaccharides — sugars found in plants, fungi, and shellfish like cellulose, chitosan, and hyaluronic acid — to give them dual water-loving and oil-loving properties. The modified polysaccharides can then be combined to form hydrogels, which are water-swollen gel networks used in medical, cosmetic, and agricultural applications. A key innovation is a method to make a solid powder that dissolves to form a hydrogel on demand, which improves shelf stability and shipping. The chemistry works across a broad family of starting materials, suggesting versatile manufacturing options.
What you could build
Injectable or topical biocompatible hydrogels for wound care, tissue engineering scaffolds, or drug delivery encapsulation, sold to pharmaceutical formulators and medical device manufacturers; the shelf-stable powder format also opens a cosmetics ingredient opportunity for formulators wanting clean-label biopolymer gels.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia biotech and pharmaceutical ingredient companies, as well as university-affiliated tissue engineering startups in the Charlottesville or Richmond corridors, would be natural early licensees or collaborators.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Kevin J. Edgar, Brittany L.B. Nichols, Junyi Chen, Charles Frazier, Ann Norris
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed December 9, 2024
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20250101139A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.