Polymers/Membranes | Office of Technology Licensing

Available Technologies by Category
Synthetic Hydrogel for Satellite Cell Delivery in Dystrophic Skeletal Muscle	Addresses the critical need for a viable treatment for deterioration of the diaphragm, which is a leading cause of respiratory failure and death in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients Engineered hydrogels comprised of synthetic polymers and peptides are designed to enable successful muscle satellite cell (MuSC) transplantation to the diaphragm or other dystrophic skeletal muscle tissue Shown to support MuSC survival, proliferation, and differentiation, which can enable restoration of dystrophin – a protein absent in DMD and critical to strengthening and repairing muscle fibers	7841
Synthetic Hydrogels for Human Organoid (HO) Generation and Transplantation	Synthetic hydrogel exhibits high cytocompatibility and minimal toxicity and inflammation in vivo for improved human organoid viability Injectable delivery vehicle supports localized HO engraftment in mucosal wounds to potentially enhance wound closure and repair Modular design and delivery via endoscopic techniques enables the translational potential of this delivery platform for regenerative medicine and overcomes limitations associated with the use of commercially available matrices for hPSC-based organoid technologies	7536
Hybrid Molecular Catalysts: A New Blueprint for Catalyst Design, Preparation, and Testing	Attachment of molecular catalysts to solid supports can lead to new reactivity not seen under homogeneous conditions At an optimal atomic layer deposition (ALD) layer thickness, the molecular catalyst remains highly active while still being resistant to surface detachment and subsequent deactivation Catalyst separation and recovery achieved via a simple filtering and washing process rather than energy- and time-intensive distillation or re-crystallization processes In addition to the simple filter-and-wash process mentioned above, encapsulation requires only about 10 reaction cycles, making this process technologically and economically viable for large-scale manufacturing	8537
Eco-Method Mordant that Improves Natural Dye Adhesion to Synthetic Fabrics	Eco-friendly: An improved industrial dyeing process because it reduces excessive heat and water contamination during manufacturing. Wide applicability: Demonstrated to be successful with other materials beyond polyester, including Kevlar and polyacrylonitrile (PAN). Improved quality: Improving commercial dye methods without losing the desired properties of polyester such as flexibility is beneficial to industries like medical supply.	9048
Advanced Manufacturing of Biodegradable Shape Memory Polymers Increases In Vivo Success	Faster healing: Improvements catalyze the regeneration of tissue for a faster recovery Increased efficacy: Decreases the likelihood of rejection because the polymers are manufactured in such a way to increase tissue ingrowth and cell attachment Reduced healthcare resource utilization: When initial implantation is successful, it reduces the need for secondary procedures or advanced clinical care for infection	8658
Hydrogels for Controlled Delivery of Lysostaphin to Treat Staphylococcus aureus Infections	Injectable (or surgically applied) hydrogel formulation conforms and adheres to the fracture and surrounding tissue, ensuring efficient, local delivery of lysostaphin Localized treatments enable higher relative doses to be given at the site of infection, and enhanced stability from the hydrogel carrier may reduce the number of overall doses needed Tunable nature of the material provides control over the amount and time over which lysostaphin is delivered	7729
Cluster-Wells: Isolating Aggressive Tumor Cell Clusters for Improved Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment	High performing: Demonstrates superior abilities to isolate CTCs without clogging the system or dissociating the clusters Low cost: Shows high potential for large-scale production because it uses simple equipment and a straightforward process Versatile: Isolates CTC clusters of any cancer type and uses hardware that can be modified to accommodate various devices	8203
Reprocessing, Recycling, and Repairing Covalent Adaptable Network Polymers	Environmentally friendly: Recycles fibers and polymers without the use of supercritical chemicals (e.g., acids) Effective: Allows for pressure-free surface repair and welding Efficient: Reclaims fibers and polymer with the same mechanical properties as fresh material for use in new products	7348
New Methods for Skin Tissue Engineering: Textile-Based Sandwich Scaffold and CNT-based Electrospun Polymer Composite Yarns	Biocompatible: Exhibits good biocompatibility of the yarns fabricated using a wet electrospinning technique (results shown within a limited range of CNT concentration in the bath) Purposeful: Mimics the strain-stiffening behavior of human tissue, unlike other scaffolds that exhibit strain-softening of their synthetic materials Demonstrated: Exhibits the ability to guide cell anisotropic arrangement as well as support cell proliferation and infiltration in in vitro biological tests	8751, 8752
Salinity Exchange Process for Low-Cost, High-Quality Potable Water	Increases water supply: This process takes advantage of abundantly available wastewater to produce clean drinking water. Requires significantly less energy: Salinity exchange uses much less energy than conventional desalination technologies for which energy consumption is still a major obstacle. Georgia Tech’s bench scale prototype has demonstrated energy consumption of less than one-third of conventional reverse osmosis. Publicly acceptable: Drinking desalinated seawater and brackish water is much more cognitively appealing than direct potable reuse of treated wastewater, overcoming public perception obstacles to water treatment.	8797
Scalable Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity for Chemical Separations	Scalable: Uses simple chemistry and eliminates production steps to enable large scale polymer manufacturing Solution-processable: Permits the development of a variety of membrane morphologies including dense flat sheets, thin film composites, and hollow fibers High chemical stability: Results in stable structures able to withstand exposure to solvents and other chemicals, enabling stable separation performance and industrial application	8113
Two-Phase Thermal Management System for Integrated Motor Cooling	High-performance: Utilizes three-dimensional silicon carbide packaging and novel drive topologies with reduced switching losses, leading to increased power density and lower motor system size and weight Embedded: Integrates with the motor and drive electronics rather than requiring an externally attached heat exchanger system Efficient: Dramatically increases volumetric heat removal rates in electric motor systems by employing a wick structure designed to assist liquid delivery to enable evaporative cooling	8280
Fluid Interface–Supported Printing Process for Stereolithography 3D Printing	Reduced costs: Lowers costs by using less resin and requiring less user effort for support removal and post-processing Faster printing: Produces parts more quickly and easily Enhanced creation of complex geometries: Enhances the ability to create more detailed and complex structures using SLA 3D printing	8774
Wearable Health Monitoring Device Improves Data Quality and Accuracy	High performance: Captures real-time, real-world data of multiple physiological signals with a significant reduction in MA interference Chest-mounted: Provides more accurate ECG, heart rate, respiratory rate, and activity detection than existing wrist-worn commercial monitors Comfortable: Adheres securely and discretely to the skin using a breathable soft membrane for continuous conformal contact, eliminating excessive sweating and skin irritation	8691
Nanoparticle-Stabilized Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes for Efficient, Large-Scale Gas Separation	Cost efficient: Eliminates the need for the time-consuming process of post-treating precursor fibers in a chemical modifying agent in order to prevent collapse Scalable: Increases available surface area for gas separation to accommodate large-scale applications Adaptable: Allows for selection of the nanoparticles’ concentration and type to meet a desired combination of gas permeance and selectivity	6723
Quasi-Melt Processing Technique for Stronger Single-Polymer Composites	Highly effective: Facilitates increased fabrication of SPCs using a variety of processing techniques Simpler: Eliminates the need to develop a textile preform, which is necessary during fiber hot compaction processing Flexible: Is compatible with standard high-throughput melt processes for polymers and plastics	5449
Zeolite Membrane Sieves Fabricated on Low-Cost Alumina Hollow Fiber Substrates	High performance: Enables lower-cost, scalable, membrane-based molecular separation Convenient: Can form a standalone complete separation or reduce bottlenecks in conventional separation processes	8080, 8167
Bio-Inspired Gripper with Shear-Induced Clamping	Effective: Assists in lifting/releasing objects when in a shear-activated/disactivated mode Versatile: Works with a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and materials Robust: Does not require high precision in controlling vise jaws, making it easy to implement in an industrial environment	8393
Novel Nanofiltration (NF) Membrane Optimizing Concurrent Nutrient Recovery and Micropollutant Removal	Effective: Targets mainstream domestic wastewater to recover a greater volume (>30%) of valuable nutrients than the current industry nutrient recovery technology focused on side streams Safer: Reduces EMPs in the fit-for-purpose water used in agricultural irrigation, minimizing the contaminants charge while permitting a lower rejection rate of valuable nutrients	8626
Facilitating Ultrasound Penetration of the Skull for Diagnosis and Treatment	Portable: Designed to enable imaging of the brain via small, mobile ultrasound devices, which may offer greater convenience compared with MRI and CT machines Affordable: May be a lower cost modality compared with leading techniques, such as MRI, CT, or positron emission tomography (PET) Robust: Demonstrates energy transmission through the skull on par with that of an aqueous medium in preliminary testing	8340

Technologies