Structural Accommodation of Microbubbles into Protein Hydrogel Network

Our vision is to address a major challenge in healthcare. By embedding drug-loaded microbubbles(MBs) within folded protein hydrogels we aim to control the release of therapeutic drug molecules.MBs can be burst, via the application of ultrasound, releasing the loaded drugs and allowing theirfree diffusion from the hydrogel at the desired time. In Leeds we have completed acharacterisation of the structure and mechanics of the system across length scales using proteinengineering, spectroscopy, rheology and modelling. Here, for the first time, we aim to examine thestructure of MBs embedded within protein hydrogels, allowing for the completion of multiscaleexamination of this multi-composite system. Such insight is vital for the further development of thissystem towards drug delivery applications.

本研究旨在解决医疗健康领域的一项重大挑战。我们通过将载药微泡（microbubbles, MBs）嵌入折叠蛋白水凝胶中，实现对治疗性药物分子释放过程的精准调控。微泡可通过超声刺激发生破裂，释放所载药物，并使药物在预设时刻从水凝胶中自由扩散。在利兹，我们已通过蛋白质工程、光谱学、流变学与建模手段，完成了该系统跨尺度的结构与力学特性表征。本次研究首次针对嵌入蛋白水凝胶的微泡结构开展表征工作，以完成对该多复合体系的完整多尺度表征。此类研究见解对于推动该系统向药物递送应用方向的进一步发展至关重要。