ERC Consolidator Grant · 2020
Our tissues, in particular collagen as the most abundant protein in our body, are constantly exposed to mechanical loads, reaching multiples of the body weight. In artificial polymers, mechanical loads are known for a century to cause radical formation and chemical degradation processes. Mechanoradicals from bond ruptures, being highly reactive and oxidising, deteriorate the material, leading to stiffening and ageing. Ageing of organic tissue is a fundamental problem in health and disease, but a role of mechanoradicals has been a blind spot. Our simple but novel idea is to test the role of mechanoradicals for ageing of biomaterials. As a starting point, we have recently uncovered…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.