Nathalie De Geyter - PLASMATS

Onderstaande beschrijving is in het Engels:

Nathalie De GeyterNathalie De Geyter, born in 1981 in Zottegem (Belgium), graduated as a civil engineer in materials science (textiles and polymers) at Ghent University in 2004. In 2008, she completed her PhD at the same university. Her dissertation dealt with the surface modification of polymeric surfaces using non-thermal plasmas at medium pressure. From 2008 till 2014, she held a position as post-doctoral assistant at Ghent University and initiated a new research line focusing on plasma polymerization experiments. During her PhD and post-doctoral studies, she often travelled to the University of Lille 1 (France) for several short research periods. In February 2014, Nathalie De Geyter was appointed a research professorship at Ghent University (Belgium), thanks to her obtained ERC starting grant. Since that time, she is leading the PLASMATS research group, which performs interdisciplinary research on plasma and electrospinning. She is currently the author or co-author of more than 60 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has given several lectures at international conferences. Her current research interests are focused on plasma surface modification of materials used for (bio)medical applications and plasma medicine.

Contact: Nathalie.DeGeyter@UGent.be

Publications: https://biblio.ugent.be/person/801001862760

PLASMATS - Plasma-assisted development and functionalization of electrospun mats for tissue engineering purposes

 

Within this ERC project, two fascinating research themes, electrospinning and plasma technology, will be combined. Electrospun nanofibrous matrices (so-called mats) are unique materials with a wide range of possible applications. Nevertheless, the development and the functionalization of these electrospun materials remain very challenging tasks. In this project, atmospheric pressure plasma technology will be utilized to create advanced biodegradable electrospun mats with unprecedented functionality and performance. To realise a major breakthrough, plasma technology will be implemented in different steps of the manufacturing process: pre-electrospinning and post-electrospinning.

The project focuses on four cornerstone research lines, which have been carefully chosen so that all critical issues one could encounter in creating advanced biodegradable electrospun mats are tackled. The first research line aims to develop biodegradable electrospun mats with appropriate bulk properties, while in a second research line, pre-electrospinning polymer solutions will be exposed to non-thermal atmospheric plasmas. This will be realized by probing unexplored concepts such as discharges created inside polymer solutions. In a third research cornerstone, an in-depth study of the interactions between an atmospheric pressure plasma and an electrospun mat will be carried out. Finally, the last research cornerstone will focus on plasma-assisted surface modification of biodegradable electrospun mats for tissue engineering purposes.