The project applied for consists on three clearly differentiated parts: the study of the foaming+impregnation process, the analytical part for the characterization of the materials generated and, a third part that will comprise their implementation in in vitro tests. This is an ambitious project, although within a realistic framework, with a major experimental part in its first two sections, which constitute the very core of the project and which are characteristic of Chemical Engineering. Therefore, it is necessary to count on qualified personnel, who master the impregnation techniques with CO2-sc and the analysis and characterization of the materials that are obtained. In addition, the staff members must have the skills that are required for proper laboratory tasks, with proven ability to solve the technical problems that may arise and with the willingness and expertise to confront the new challenges that this project may bring.

For this reason, a postdoctoral researcher with a thesis in doctoral programs related to chemical engineering and with the necessary background in the handling of high pressure equipment for the impregnation and treatment of polymers with CO2-sc is required. Such staff member should also have the necessary skills for the planning and interpretation of experiments as well as the required skills to write scientific articles. Since the applicants will be postdoctoral students, the hired personnel will be incorporated into the project’s research team to take on those tasks related to their training and actively participate in Tasks II, III and IV of the project, which are related to the foaming, impregnation and characterization of the impregnated polymers.

In addition, the project requests two contracts to be included in the pre-doctoral contract program for the training of Doctors. These two pre-doctoral researchers would carry out their activity in a differentiated way by focusing their studies on the two products that are proposed in this work, scaffolds and stents, so that the methodology and the tasks in which they participate would be analogous, even if the objectives would be different.