Virginia Tech® home

Research and Discovery

Dan Hindman and Houri

Our mission is to create and disseminate knowledge about Sustainable Biomaterials, through our research, teaching and outreach activities. We are involved in many exciting research projects.

Undergraduate students may also be involved in research projects with faculty and gain valuable additional experience in almost any area of our program.

We are always interested in including undergraduate students in our research program. Please contact the Department for information on exciting employment opportunities in our program.

The Brooks, Cheatham, and ICTAS facilities have several Laboratories to further the education of our Undergraduate and Graduate Students.

Visit our Departmental Sponsored Research Centers.

Students in the Edgar research group engage in multidisciplinary work on the development of novel synthetic methods for polysaccharide derivatives and materials. We seek to create new materials with superior performance in societally important applications, including sustainable and biodegradable plastics, enhancing delivery of challenging drug molecules, engineered materials for improving human health, and many other areas of high impact. We engage students in the most fundamental problems in the chemistry of sustainable materials, including the challenging discovery of ways to selectively modify complex polysaccharides in order to create tailored, useful new materials. We have very active graduate and undergraduate research in our lab. We have had more than 25 PhD and Masters’ students in our lab, and over 20 undergraduate researchers. Our philosophy is always to engage undergraduate researchers in projects of a size that can be completed in the time that the student has available, and that can be part of a manuscript for publication in a top journal in the field, giving the student valuable experience and strengthening the resume. We have published >130 manuscript, virtually all of which had graduate student first authors, and many of which had undergraduate authors.

Recent publications you can link to:

1.     Chen, J.; Zhai, Z.; Edgar, K.J. Recent advances in polysaccharide-based in situ forming hydrogels. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology 2022, 70, 102200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2022.102200.

2.     Novo, D.C.; Gao, C.; Qi, Q.; Mosquera-Giraldo, L.I.; Spiering, G.A.; Moore, R.B.; Taylor, L.S.; Edgar, K.J. Designing synergistic crystallization inhibitors: bile salt derivatives of cellulose with enhanced hydrophilicity. Carbohyr. Polym. 2022, 292, 192680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119680

3.      Zhou, Y.; Edgar, K.J. Regioselective synthesis of polysaccharide–amino acid ester conjugates. Carbohydr. Polym. 2022, 277, 118886. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118886

4.     Chen, J.; Frazier, C.E.; Edgar, K.J. Photo-curable, double-crosslinked, in situ-forming hydrogels based on oxidized hydroxypropyl cellulose. Cellulose 2021, 28, 3903-3915. doi.org/10.1007/s10570-021-03788-9.

5.     Chen, J.; Kamitakahara, H.; Edgar, K.J. Synthesis of polysaccharide-based block copolymers via olefin cross-metathesis. Carbohydr. Polym. 2020, 229, 115530. doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.115530

6.     Nichols, B.L.B.; Chen, J.; Mischnick, P.; Edgar, K.J. Selective oxidation of hydroxypropyl ethers of cellulose and dextran. Simple and efficient introduction of versatile ketone groups to polysaccharide. Biomacromolecules, 2020, 21, 4835-4849. doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.0c01045

7.     Chen, J.; Nichols, B.L.B.; Norris, A.M. ; Frazier, C.E.; Edgar, K.J. All-polysaccharide, self-healing injectable hydrogels based on chitosan and oxidized hydroxypropyl polysaccharides. Biomacromolecules 2020, 21, 4262-4272. doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.0c01046

8.     Chen, J.; Spiering, G.; Mosquera-Giraldo, L; Moore, R.B.; Edgar, K.J. Regioselective bromination of the dextran non-reducing end creates a pathway to dextran-based block copolymers. Biomacromolecules 2020, 21, 1729-1738. doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.9b01668

9.      Dong, Y.; Novo, D.C.; Mosquera-Giraldo, L.I.; Taylor, L.S.; Edgar, K.J. Conjugation of Bile Esters to Cellulose by Olefin Cross-metathesis: A Strategy for Accessing Complex Polysaccharide Structures. Carbohydr. Polym. 2019, 144, 110-124. doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.05.061

10.  Gao, C.; Edgar, K.J. Efficient Synthesis of Glycosaminoglycan Analogs. Biomacromolecules, 2019, 20, 608-617. doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.8b01150

Undergrad pubs you can link to; UG researchers marked by carat (^):

Edgar Lab Undergraduate Publications

1.       “Studies on regioselective acylation of cellulose with bulky acid chlorides”, Xu, D.*; Li, B.#; Tate, C.^; Edgar, K.J. Cellulose 2011, 18, 405-419.

2.       “Solid Dispersion of Quercetin in Cellulose Derivative Matrices Influences both Solubility and Stability”, Li, B.#; Konecke, S.^; Harich, K.; Wegiel, L.A.; Taylor, L.S.; Edgar, K.J. Carbohydrate Polymers 2013, 92, 2033-2040.

3.       Liu, H.*; Ilevbare, G.; Cherniawski, B.P.^; Ritchie, E.T.^; Taylor, L.S.; Edgar, K.J. Synthesis and structure-property evaluation of cellulose w-carboxyesters for amorphous solid dispersions. Carbohydr. Polym. 2014, 100, 116-125.

4.       Pereira, J.*; Mahoney, M.^; Edgar, K.J. Synthesis of amphiphilic 6-carboxypullulan ethers. Carb. Polym. 2014, 100, 65-73.

5.       Li, B.#; Konecke, S.^; Wegiel, L.A.; Taylor, L.S.; Edgar, K.J. Curcumin Solubility and Chemical Stability are Enhanced by Solid Dispersion in Cellulose Ester Matrices. Carbohydr. Polym. 2013, 98, 1108-1116.

6.       Pereira, J.M.*; Mejia-Ariza, R.; Ilevbare, G.A.; McGettigan, H.E.^; Sriranganathan, N.; Taylor, L.S.; Davis, R.M.; Edgar, K.J. Interplay of degradation, dissolution and stabilization of clarithromycin and its amorphous solid dispersions. Mol. Pharm., 2013, 10, 4640-4653.

7.       Zhang, R.*; Kuang, J.^; Zheng, X.*; Edgar, K.J., Glycan ester deacylation by TBAOH or TBAF: regioselectivity vs. polysaccharide structure. Carbohydr. Polym. 2014, 113, 159-165.

8.       Meng, X.*; York, E.A.^; Liu, S.*; Edgar, K.J. Hydroboration-Oxidation: A Chemoselective Route to Cellulose w-Hydroxyalkanoate Esters. Carbohydr. Polym., 2015, 133, 262-269.

9.       Dong, Y.*; Mosquera-Giraldo, L.I.; Troutman, J.^; Skogstad, B.^; Taylor, L.S.; Edgar, K.J. Amphiphilic Hydroxyalkyl Cellulose Derivatives for Amorphous Solid Dispersion Prepared by Olefin Cross-Metathesis Polym. Chem., 2016, 7, 4953-4963.

10.   Arca, H.C.*; Mosquera-Giraldo, L.I.; Dahal, D.^; Taylor, L.S.; Edgar, K.J. Multidrug, anti-HIV amorphous solid dispersions: nature and mechanisms of impacts of drugs on each other’s solution concentrations, Mol. Pharm. 2017, 14, 3617-3627.

11.   Gao, C.*; Fisher, Z.B.^; Edgar, K.J. Azide reduction by DTT or thioacetic acid provides access to amino and amido polysaccharides. Cellulose 2019, 26, 445-462.