Conclusions The gel mold method of generating particles is possible as shown through this proof of concept work. Two of the three goals stated were reached during the length of this project. The areas that will need improvement in the future for this to become a commercially viable process are primarily concerned with the loading and lift off; collagen currently competes with salts during incubation for spaces within the wells and on pillars. The majority of particles generated being composed of salts from the PBS solution, not collagen. These salts can be removed by washing the glass slide. The removal of the collagen particles into a storage fluid or other medium from the secondary substrate has not yet been explored. Possible solutions would be a chemical rinse or scraping them off using a razor. In short, the next group that will work on this project will need to experiment with the surface chemistries involved in loading and unloading in order to bring up the yield of the process. The work of my partner, Jeff Richards, will also need to be incorporated into this method. Using collagen particles as a drug delivery system is dependent on the encapsulation of the drug payload into the vehicle. His work was focused on generating a protocol for the loading of green fluorescent protein (GFP) into a collagen vehicle system. Additional troubleshooting may be necessary as the two collagen solutions are different from each other.
Conclusions The gel mold method of generating particles is possible as shown through this proof of concept work. Two of the three goals stated were reached during the length of this project. The areas that will need improvement in the future for this to become a commercially viable process are primarily concerned with the loading and lift off; collagen currently competes with salts during incubation for spaces within the wells and on pillars. The majority of particles generated being composed of salts from the PBS solution, not collagen. These salts can be removed by washing the glass slide. The removal of the collagen particles into a storage fluid or other medium from the secondary substrate has not yet been explored. Possible solutions would be a chemical rinse or scraping them off using a razor. In short, the next group that will work on this project will need to experiment with the surface chemistries involved in loading and unloading in order to bring up the yield of the process. The work of my partner, Jeff Richards, will also need to be incorporated into this method. Using collagen particles as a drug delivery system is dependent on the encapsulation of the drug payload into the vehicle. His work was focused on generating a protocol for the loading of green fluorescent protein (GFP) into a collagen vehicle system. Additional troubleshooting may be necessary as the two collagen solutions are different from each other.
Bezerra_Honors_Thesis.docx