Advisor(s)
Eugenia Kharlampieva
Committee Member(s)
Jongwha Oh
Jun Zhang
Sadanandan Velu
Vinoy Thomas
School
College of Arts and Sciences
Document Type
Dissertation
Department (new version)
Chemistry
Date of Award
9-11-2025
Abstract
Advancements in the fabrication of “smart” stimuli responsive hydrogel microparti-cles have been pivotal in their optimization for applications. The responsiveness of hydro-gel networks to external stimuli enhances the intrinsic properties of hydrogels to increase functionality. Through layer-by-layer assembly, the internal composition, network struc-ture, and surface chemistry of multilayer hydrogels can be directly controlled to introduce new and unique properties. Applicable to a wide variety of shapes and sizes; hydrogel mi-croparticles are versatile for biological interactions, such as, cellular internalization, tissue regeneration, biosensors, and more. Thus, this dissertation will discuss the synthesis of shaped pH-responsive hydrogel microparticles and the investigation of their material prop-erties crucial to targeted biomedical applications. Chapter 1 introduces concepts relevant to multilayer hydrogel materials, providing insight to stimuli-responsive properties, layer-by-layer assembly (LBL), and key components pertaining to material structure, shape and properties significant to the application of multilayer hydrogels. Chapter 2 describes the instrumental techniques implemented for hydrogel characterization and data collection. Methods specific to identifying and validating the findings to construct hydrogel materials are discussed here. Chapter 3 discusses architectural control of stimuli-responsive multilayer microparticles through surface porosity of inorganic sacrificial templates using the Layer-by-layer assembly technique. Investigation of the hydrogel properties is conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) when the internal network structure is manipulated from hollow to continuous by the presence of surface porosity. Chapter 4, reports findings from a unique approach to study the mechanical properties of pH-responsive ultrathin hydrogel microcapsules. Using a controlled osmotic volume technique, the structure-property relationships between shell thickness and pressure-induced shape dimensions by osmotic principals are studied to understand the mechanical response of hollow capsules as a bulk material. Implementing this method, we can estimate and draw conclusions about the elastic properties of our materials. Overall, this dissertation is aimed to advance the design and understandings of hydrogel particles, revealing key insights that connect their assembly process to their properties. These findings are useful in the development of versatile microparticles for various applications.
ProQuest ID
Recommended Citation
Inman, Daniel, "Controlling Properties Of Pmaa Multilayer Hydrogel Microparticles Through Network Structure" (2025). All ETDs from UAB. 7373.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/7373
