The San Francisco Bay Area polymer science organization, the Golden Gate Polymer Forum, is sponsoring a two-day virtual short course in November 2nd and 4th: Polymers for Medical Applications. See below for more details. For more information and to register, click here.
Course Overview
Polymers are increasingly finding use in medicine. Natural, synthetic, and biomimetic polymeric materials will be discussed in the context of the key role they play in advancing medical device technologies. Applications where polymers play a key role include (but are not limited to) biosensing, tissue replacement/repair, drug delivery through the oral and transdermal routes, gene delivery using nanoparticles, and Covid-19 vaccines
This two-day virtual course will address the breadth of different polymeric systems in a wide range of usage areas from medicine and drug delivery to medical devices. Attendees will get an overview of how to evaluate the many medical needs that can be addressed by clever use of polymers. Key takeaways from the course should include: an understanding of which medical devices are functionally dependent on the performance attributes of the polymers used; aspects of designing polymers for specific medical applications including device coatings and use of biomimetic polymers; how to evaluate the merits of using synthetic polymers over naturally-derived polymers for implanted devices; and assessing the ability to modify polymers to enable biodegradable and biostable coatings on devices.
