The cervical mucus barrier as a target for artificial neural network inspired novel blends of electrospun scaffolds.
Margaret Ilomuanya of the University of Lagos in Nigeria will develop a non-hormonal approach to contraception in women focussing on the interaction of mucoadhesive electrospun scaffold with cervical mucus. Studies have shown that unintended pregnancies occur due to perceived dissatisfaction, or unpalatable side effect profiles, arising frommodern hormonal contraceptive use. This has necessitated a need for more effective optionsin non-hormonal contraception to be made available to women. They will develop a novel blend of biodegradable electrospun scaffolds whose properties will be optimized using artificial neural networks aided surface response aided design to facilitate non-hormonal contraception via interaction with cervical mucus. They will evaluate the surface characteristics, mucoadhesive nature and safety of the developed scaffolds to demonstrate the potential of the developed electrospun scaffolds as a delivery platform for contraception.
