Research Projects

The need for new multifunctional materials in biomedical research is growing due to the need for integrated functionalities in various biological applications. Polyphenols, such as polyphenols, have excellent antioxidant, antibacterial, antimutagenic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. Tannic acid (TA) is a hydrolysable polyphenol with an amphiphilic nature and can achieve supramolecular assembly through hydrogen interaction, electrostatic interaction, and hydrogen bonding. This self-assembly can result in various materials such as nanoparticles, hydrogels, microgels, and coating films, which have potential applications in drug delivery, tissue engineering, tumor biomarkers, and treatment. This proposal aims to design a temperature and pH-responsive degradable poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgel system crosslinked by TA for sustainable drug release using Liraglutide as a model drug. Microgels are stimuli-responsive 3D network structures with remarkable colloidal stability, and Liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, has a short half-life. To address this issue, a microgel system can be designed as an efficient and stable drug carrier for Liraglutide. Microgels will be synthesized via free-radical precipitation polymerisation and used to encapsulate Liraglutide due to TA-protein complexation. The system will improve the Liraglutide-TA complex efficiency for sustained drug release, eliminating the need for daily injections. This approach offers advantages such as colloidal stability, biocompatibility, and degradability for sustainable drug release.