Wendy Krause

After receiving her Ph.D. in 2000, Wendy became a research scientist at a small technology development company in College Station, Texas. While there, Wendy secured over $450,000 in extramural funding through the federal government’s SBIR program. In 2003, Wendy became an assistant professor at NC State the in the Fiber and Polymer Science Program and Textile Engineering Program in the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science.

Research

Krause’s research interests focus on structure-property relationships of macromolecules (polymers) with an emphasis on their mechanical (rheological) properties and their response to mechanical stimulus. Of great personal interest to Krause are biologically and medically relevant macromolecules and fibers (two related projects are highlighted below). In addition, Krause continues to be fascinated by polyelectrolyte solution dynamics, rheology and structure of colloids, electrostatic self assembly of nanolayers, the mechanical properties of nanocomposites, lubrication and biolubrication, tribology as it relates to lubrication, gels, tissue engineering, and biomaterials.

Synovial Fluid

Synovial fluid is the fluid that lines our freely moving (synovial) joints, and is vital to joint lubrication. Normal synovial joints exhibit an extremely low coefficient of friction–similar to an ice skate on ice–and their cartilage does not abrade over several decades. This is not the case for arthritic joints. In comparison to healthy synovial fluid, diseased fluid has a reduced viscosity. In OA this reduction in viscosity results from a decline in both the molecular weight and concentration of hyaluronic acid (HA). The polyelectrolyte HA is a glycosaminoglycan and an important component of synovial fluid. Its presence results in highly viscoelastic solutions with excellent lubricating and shock-absorbing properties. To advance our understanding of how HA contributes to the vital mechanical properties of synovial fluid, an experimental model will be refined, characterized, and compared to bovine/equine synovial fluid. The rheological properties of bovine/equine synovial fluid, the synovial fluid model (SFM), and its components will be investigated in the presence and absence of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Biopolymer Nanofibers

Tissue engineering is a promising field which may resolve problems with organ and tissue transplantation (i.e., donor shortage and immune rejection) through fabrication of biological alternatives for harvested organs and tissues. One approach to tissue engineering utilizes a biodegradable scaffold onto which cells are seeded and cultured, and ideally developed into functional tissue. The scaffold acts as an artificial, extracellular matrix (ECM). In natural tissues, the ECM has physical structural features ranging from the nanometer scale to the micrometer scale. When designing a novel tissue engineering scaffold, the cells’ native environment should be mimicked as closely as possible (typical collagen fibers of the ECM have diameters in the range of 50 – 500 nm). To mimic natural ECM, we propose to develop an artificial ECM from biopolymer nanofibers. These biopolymer nanofibers will be fabricated via electrostatic spinning (electrospinning). Unlike conventional fiber spinning techniques (e.g., wet spinning, dry spinning, melt spinning, etc.), which produce polymer fibers with diameters down to the micrometer scale, electrospinning is a process capable of producing submicron size fiber on the order of 100 nm in diameter.