Entry Date:
July 19, 2012

Hammond Lab: Engineering Multifunctional Polymeric Materials

Principal Investigator Paula Hammond


The Hammond research group focuses on the self-assembly of polymeric nanomaterials, with a major emphasis on the use of electrostatics and other complementary interactions to generate functional materials with highly controlled architecture. The uniting theme of the lab – the understanding and use of secondary interactions to guide materials assembly at surfaces and in solution – encompasses four major areas of research:

(1) Layer-by-layer controlled release thin film coatings for biomedical implants that address bone regeneration, wound healing, tissue engineering and transdermal delivery from microneedle platforms,

(2) Nanoparticle drug carriers for targeted nanoparticle drug, gene, and siRNA delivery for cancer treatment using unique platforms that enable combination and sequenced delivery strategies,

(3) High-throughput, data-driven layered nanoparticle screening and design,

(4) Engineering synthetic blood substitutes using polymer-based hemoglobin carriers and artificial hemostat for improved oxygen transport and coagulation control.