Research News
Posted 6 July 2009
Research with Potential for Wound Care wins AIT Poster Competition
A postgraduate researcher whose work has potential for radically improving the way that wounds are treated has won a poster fest competition held at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT).
Tommy Smith, a PhD researcher at the Materials Research Institute (MRI) at AIT, is investigating novel two-phase hydrogels. If his research proves successful it could prove significant for dealing with inflammation and matrix formation and for the remodelling phase of wound healing. Laboratory analysis has indicated these new hydrogels may prove useful as temperature sensitive drug delivery systems.
Hydrogels are polymeric materials that have found many applications inside the human body because of their remarkable resemblance to human tissue. In many cases, however, a single hydrogel cannot meet divergent demands in terms of both performance and properties. Mr Smith’s research attempts to overcome these limitations by using a two-phase hydrogel, which embedded a xerogel in the core of a cryogel that was freeze-thawed.
Director of Research at AIT, Prof. Gabriel Crean, congratulated Mr Smith on winning the best AIT project at the exhibition. The poster fest was a valuable opportunity, he said, for showcasing the research being undertaken at AIT. “Research has the potential to change lives, to improve our standards of living, to alter how we engage with the world and one another, and to enhance our understanding of the human experience. The research undertaken at AIT is helping transform Ireland into a knowledge-based society, which is so vital to the restoration of the country’s economic well-being,” he said.
Tommy Smith, who is originally from Mullingar, was presented with a cheque for €200 and a parchment for winning the prize of best AIT project at the poster fest. The PhD project, which commenced in September 2006, is being supervised by Dr Clement Higginbotham and Dr James Kennedy. To date Mr Smith has published a number of journal articles and his latest paper on smart polymeric materials for biomedical applications has been accepted for a book to be published in America. A graduate of AIT, he holds an honours degree in polymer science from the institute, having previously qualified at sub-degree level in plastics engineering.
The MRI conducts interdisciplinary research focused on materials science and technology and the delivery of contract development and testing services to industry. Its facilities are dedicated to materials synthesis; processing, manufacture, analysis and testing.
