High-density biocompatible hydrogels for in-vivo gastric acid relocation
department or school: Applied Science, Faculty of
department or school: Engineering, School of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: Earl, Emily Elizabeth
issued: 2023-12-20T08:00:00Z
issued: 2021
related degree: Master of Applied Science - MASc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Over the past 30 years, treatments for heartburn have primarily remained unchanged. Current medication focuses on increasing the pH of gastric reflux by altering the overall pH of gastric fluid. This is accomplished by using neutralizing agents or by impairing the body’s ability to produce gastric acid. While these methods are effective at providing symptom management, they can cause undesired side effects and do not specifically target the gastric acid pocket: a highly acidic layer of gastric acid that remains stagnant at the top of the stomach. This thesis explores the development of an alternative technique to treat heartburn that focuses on relocating the contents of the gastric acid pocket rather than neutralizing it. In order to effectively perform this relocation, high-density chitosan-based superporous hydrogels were developed to displace the fluid in the gastric acid pocket by quickly absorbing the contents and sinking to the bottom of the stomach, away from the esophagus. The efficacy of the hydrogels was determined based on four main factors: swelling ability, equilibrium swelling time, swollen density, and biocompatibility. Two main methods of hydrogel formation were compared: the gas blowing method and the freeze-drying method. Within these two methods, a variety of hydrogel formulations were prepared in which the concentrations of polymers, crosslinking agents, and high-density materials were varied to optimize the hydrogel for maximum swelling ability. Biocompatible ceramics such as titanium dioxide and zirconium dioxide were used as the high- density materials in the hydrogel, and their biocompatibility was confirmed through cell cytotoxicity studies. An optimal hydrogel formulation was developed using the freeze-drying procedure paired with density adaptation from zirconium dioxide. This formulation is capable of swelling more than 25 times its initial mass in simulated gastric fluid while maintaining a swollen density higher than that of gastric co…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/80525
note: HIGH-DENSITY BIOCOMPATIBLE HYDROGELS FOR IN-VIVO GASTRIC ACID RELOCATION by Emily Elizabeth Earl B.A.Sc., The University of British Columbia (Okanagan), 2019 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF APPLIED SCIENCE in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Mechanical Engineering) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) December 2021 © Emily Elizabeth Earl, 2021 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: HIGH-DENSITY BIOCOMPATIBLE HYDROGELS FOR IN-VIVO GASTRIC ACID RELOCATION submitted by Emily Elizabeth Earl in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Applied Science. Dr. Mina Hoorfar, School of Engineering Supervisor Dr. Mohammad Arjmand, School of Engineering Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Julian Cheng, School of Engineering Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Kasun Hewage, School of Engineering University Examiner iii Abstract Over the past 30 years, treatments for heartburn have primarily remained unchanged. Current medication focuses on increasing the pH of gastric reflux by altering the overall pH of gastric fluid. This is accomplished by using neutralizing agents or by impairing the body’s ability to produce gastric acid. While these methods are effective at providing symptom management, they can cause undesired side effects and do not specifically target the gastric acid pocket: a highly acidic layer of gastric acid that remains stagnant at the top of the stomach. This thesis explores the development of an alternative technique to treat heartburn that focuses on relocating the contents of the gastric acid pocket rather than neutralizing it. In order to effectively perform this relocation, high-density chitosan-based superporous hydrogels were developed to displace the fluid in the gastric acid pocket by quickly absorbing the contents and sinking to the bottom of the stomach, …
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2022-02
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0406130
language: eng
degree discipline: Mechanical Engineering
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Hoorfar, Mina
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/80525