Emerging Innovations

Novel PARP1/2 inhibitor compounds that interact with the HPF1 part of the PARP active site to form more stable and effective inhibitors can be used for treating cancer, neurotoxicity and vascular disease.

The facile nature of assembly allows for primary cells, stem cells, or cell lines to be incorporated throughout the porous scaffold. Each microgel can be loaded with proteins or small molecules for localized delivery at defined concentrations.

Distinguished Chemical and Biological Engineering Professor Christopher Bowman’s research group has designed a novel thiol-thioester covalent adaptable networks (CANs), which can be seamlessly incorporated into mature polymerization procedures.

Concrete exposed to cyclic freezing and thawing temperatures is susceptible to damage. Researchers at CU Boulder found that PEG-PVA provided freeze-thaw resistance comparable to air-entrained concrete with a hardened state air content less than 3%. The low air content suggests that the freeze-thaw resistance could be attributed to something other than an entrained air system.

Researchers at CU Boulder have turned to nature to create a novel battery material with unique structure and electronic properties. By utilizing the natural structure and growth mechanism of certain fungi, these materials can be ‘tuned’ to provide certain properties desirable in batteries, for example, as well as catalytic applications.

CU Denver Associate Professor Dr. Ronald A. L. Rorrer has developed a way to upcycle retired wind turbine blades into new building materials for civil engineering projects such as snow breaks, landscaping, earthen dams and bridges.

Researchers at CU Boulder have developed novel hydrogels for nanoscale optical imaging of biological samples. This invention provides photopolymerizable hydrogel platforms to expand biological samples between 6-20X depending on the chemistry used.

CU Boulder researchers have designed a Liquid Crystal Elastomers (LCEs) network that exhibit the most similar actuation behavior to natural muscle, due to their dramatic contraction, reversible deformation, response to multiple stimuli, and great potential for micro-scale robotics.

Researchers at CU Boulder, led by Biochemistry Professor Robert Batey, have developed compositions and methods for temporal regulation of single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) that comprise a small molecule-binding aptamer in the sgRNA, which enables small-molecule-dependent gene editing in bacteria.

Researchers at CU Boulder, led by Architectural Engineering Professor Moncef Krarti, have discovered how to take benefits of a several-steps strategy instead of just having a 2-step control mechanism by using tilting insulators inside the exterior wall.