Molecular Engineering of Soft Materials in Health Care

This course provides an overview of the design, analysis and engineering principles for soft materials in health applications on a molecular scale. Such soft materials cover a wide range of health applications, including drug delivery, imaging, tissue engineering, and implants. We will cover practical knowledge in the engineering and advancement of these biomaterials that enables their use in biological tissues, including the properties of materials (e.g., biocompatibility and biodegradability), the biological response associated to them (e.g., inflammation and clearance), and the practical concerns during development and commercialization (e.g., safety and quality control).

Case studies of health applications (e.g., biomaterials for COVID vaccination, artificial organs, tumor imaging and diagnosis) will be covered in this course to further integrate your knowledge into real-world applications.