HANOVER, NH – Dartmouth College has been awarded a NH BioMade Pilot Seed Fund for a research project entitled “Bio-Inspired Design and Manufacturing of Polymer-Derived Ceramics in Health Applications.”
Polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) have potential to replace metallic materials in many biomedical applications due to their outstanding properties such as compatibility with human tissue, thermal stability, high resistance to corrosion and thermal shock, and good electrical conductivity. Conditions in the human body can cause corrosion and degradation of metallic medical implants such as pacemakers. However, the use of PDCs in health applications has been limited primarily due to their relative low fracture toughness and reliability.
The project, led by Yan Li, assistant professor of engineering, will develop a framework to identify the material performance and failure issues of PDCs and predict fracture toughness and durability.
The New Hampshire Center for Multiscale Modeling and Manufacturing of Biomaterials (NH BioMade) advances the design and manufacture of biomaterials. The NH BioMade Research Seed Funding Opportunity provides support for faculty and post-doctoral associates at New Hampshire universities and colleges to pursue research questions related to the NH BioMade focus areas. Led by the University of New Hampshire, NH BioMade is supported by a National Science Foundation EPSCoR award (#1757371).
