Advances in materials engineering have led to the development of several biomaterials for surgical implants, catheters, sutures, grafts, and drug delivery systems. However, most of the currently available biomaterials are immunogenic and fibrogenic with compliance mismatch with the host tissue and often produce toxic byproducts at the implant site. Therefore, there is an unmet need for the development of novel functional biomaterials with anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombogenic, and pro-regenerative properties, along with the ability to improve the drug efficiency by increasing the drug residence time when needed.
We developed a new class of functional biopolymers incorporated with inflammation modulatory and pro-regenerative attributes and demonstrated their utility in biomedical and drug delivery applications. By programming the zeta potential, surface pH, and mechanical properties of our functional biopolymers we fabricated bioscaffolds and demonstrated their immunomodulatory properties in rat ventral hernia repair model. This study demonstrated the bioscaffold ability to modulate inflammation and fibrosis and promote regenerative healing rather than healing through tissue scarring. We developed a thromboresistant vascular graft with tunable physicochemical and mechanical properties that can mimic the surface of the host vessel and maintain long-term patency. The thromboresistance of the graft was tested in vivo in a rat aorta. The second part of this thesis focuses on the non-invasive ocular drug delivery system. Current standard of care, eyedrop treatment for eye injuries and diseases are ineffective because of the ocular surface barriers that prevent drug diffusion into the eye. In this context, we developed non-invasive drug delivery systems that can surmount the ocular barriers for the delivery of drugs for an extended period to improve the drug efficiency and patient compliance.