PhD Student
Email: swang73 [at] mit . edu
she/her/hers
Tunable Coatings for Controlled Therapeutic Delivery in Orthopedic Implants
Repair of large defects in load-bearing bone presents a significant challenge in orthopedic medicine. Current treatment methods rely on metal implants to restore mechanical and structural support, such as in joint replacement surgery. However, implant loosening, due to lack of integration with native tissue, and peri-implant infection are significant sources of implant failure. Novel coatings can impart to existing orthopedic implants precisely tuned delivery of bioactive agents and therapeutics. My research aims to engineer an orthopedic implant coating for temporally controlled multi-drug delivery. Taking advantage of versatile layer-by-layer assembly of polymer thin films, my work aims to enable extended, sequential delivery of antibiotics to prevent implant infection and of biologic factors to promote integration of implants with native bone.