In the basic research, Chu focuses on the effect of morphology of polymers and fibers on degradation and the use degradation to reveal polymer/fiber morphology. His research activities in the basic research include: theoretical understanding of the effects of chemical structure on degradation through supercomputer molecular modeling, exploring both intrinsic and extrinsic factors that could affect the degradation properties and the role of free radicals in degradation.
Applied Research
In the applied research, Chu focuses on the study of biomaterials, particularly novel biodegradable polymers/fibers for tissue regeneration like vascular grafts, wound closure and drug control/release purposes, the design and evaluation of novel biologic active biodegradable polymers for surgical repair of injured or diseased tissues, wound closure biomaterials, wound infection and healing, and biodegradation mechanism. His research activities in the applied research include the synthesis of biodegradable polymers having biologic functions for wound closure and drug control/release use; development of new sterilization techniques for those g-irradiation sensitive biomedical polymers; design of biodegradable composite orthopaedic devices and biodegradable vascular grafts.