[CRYO-GEL] Freezing-based assays for high-resolution characterization of transport properties of hydrogels
Ente: EC
Scadenza: 2029-05-31
Importo max: 307.959 EUR
Paese: EU
Descrizione
Hydrogels are soft, elastic, and porous materials widely used in drug delivery, tissue engineering, filtration, and energy devices, where their performance depends on transport properties such as hydraulic permeability, poroelastic diffusivity, and solute diffusivity. However, current knowledge is limited: most measurements are restricted to fully swollen gels, and little is known about how swelling, drying, heterogeneity, or anisotropy affect transport. Conventional flow-based assays are slow, imprecise, and cannot capture dynamic changes, while theoretical models for solute diffusion remain untested against systematic experimental data. This project addresses these challenges by developing a freezing-based assay that uses cryosuction and thermal regelation to drive controlled water flow through microlitre-scale hydrogel particles while tracking swelling and solute transport in situ with confocal imaging, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, and scattering techniques. Three work packages will build and validate the platform, map how microstructure governs permeability and poroelastic transport, and establish predictive models of solute diffusion validated in drug-release assays. The outcome will be the first experimentally validated framework linking hydrogel structure, swelling, and transport, distilled into open design rules. These insights will accelerate the design of programmable hydrogels for targeted therapies, tissue scaffolds, pollutant filtration, energy devices, and food packaging, delivering broad and lasting scientific and societal impact.
Settori: Horizon Europe Topics
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