Sung Gap Im to Lecture February 14

Sung Gap ImThis spring the MBM Program will begin its Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture series, starting February 14 at 4pm in 2269 Beckman with Dr. Sung Gap Im of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

The lecture will be titled “Constructing bio-functional surfaces with vapor-phased deposited polymer thin films and their applications for neural tissue engineering.”

Abstract: iCVD (initiated chemical vapor deposition) is a vapor-phase polymerization process that can deposit various kinds of functional polymer films. Especially, bioactive surfaces can be generated via iCVD through the introduction of various combinations of functionalities onto target substrates to induce various surface cues for cells. Compared to conventional liquid phase-based methods, the solvent-free process can generate polymer coatings of extremely high purity, which is essential for bioengineering, as some residual impurities produce harmful side effects to cells. In addition, the thin iCVD polymer films remained durable and robust in aqueous conditions (water, buffer and medium), rendering them suitable for monitoring cellular behaviors or interactions occurring between biomolecules that require monitoring for long periods. Such advantageous characteristics of the iCVD process have been exploited for tissue regeneration, thermo-responsive functionalization for cell sheet engineering, biosensors, and functional coatings for biomedical devices. In this seminar, the application of iCVD polymer films to various fields of bioengineering research will be reviewed.

Sung Gap Im is an associate professor in the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). He received his BS and MS Chemical Engineering degrees from Seoul National University in 1997 and 1999, respectively, and his PhD Chemical Engineering degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2009. After working as a postdoctoral research fellow in Professor Robert S. Langer’s group at MIT, he joined KAIST in 2010. His current research interest is the chemical vapor deposition of functional polymer films and their applications in biomedical devices, flexible electronics, and surface modification.

Sung Gap Im‘s Profile at KAIST >