Evelina Pacheco

Visiting PhD student, UNSAM, Argentina

Development and characterisation of bioresorbable and bioactive scaffolds based on polyhydroxyalkanoate- bioactive glass composites

Supervisors (in Erlangen): Marcela Arango-Ospina, Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini

This project focuses on developing bioresorbable and bioactive scaffolds by combining polyhydroxyalkanoate and bioactive glass particles, to promote bone regeneration. The research involves optimizing the polymer-glass composition and evaluating additive manufacturing fabrication methods to create 3D scaffolds with adequate mechanical strength, tailored degradation behavior and biological activity. Key objectives include characterizing the material’s morphology, microstructure, biodegradation kinetics and cell biology response. Ultimately, this work aims to advance the field of biomedical engineering to improve advanced scaffolds for bone regeneration. The project is part of the research collaboration between Lab3Bio  – Laboratorio de Biomateriales, Biomecánica y Bioinstrumentación, Universidad Nacional de San Martín  (UNSAM), ( https://www.unsam.edu.ar/) Argentina, (principal investigators: Dr. Beatriz Araoz and Prof. Elida Hermida) and the FAU Institute of Biomaterials, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). ( https://www.dfg.de/ )