John B. Matson

Research Interests

Our lab focuses on developing new materials to address problems in biology, medicine, and sustainability. With a focus on synthetic organic and polymer chemistry as well as self-assembly, we aim to synthesize, characterize, and test these new materials in an interdisciplinary and collaborative manner. Current research efforts include:

• Developing methods for the delivery of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), a biologically vital signaling agent. To this end we focus on small molecule H₂S donors triggered by specific stimuli, polymer and polymer assemblies capable of sustained H₂S release, and hydrogels that have the ability to localize H₂S delivery.
• Synthesizing and studying bottlebrush polymers with unique shapes, such as tapered (cone-shaped) bottlebrush polymers.
• Preparing new polymers and polymer blends based on a combination of synthetic polymers and naturally occurring polymers such as polysaccharides.
• Investigating dendritic peptides with thermoresponsive properties. We are evaluating these high molecular weight, highly branched peptides as biomaterials for tissue engineering and drug delivery.