NSF Award
2419386
With the support of the Polymers program in the Division of Materials Research, the University at Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) research team is developing polymeric networks with finely tuned architectures and precisely controlled physical properties, such as mechanical behavior along with hydrogel swelling and surface morphology. Materials architecture would be essential for their applications in sensing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. However, the preparation of nanothin hydrogels with complex hierarchical structures has yet to be explored. The goal of the proposed study will be to understand the effects of architecture hierarchy in thin nanostructured hydrogels for controlling hydrogel mechanical responses. This project will bring new insights into the interplay between internal network arrangement and rigidity as a novel and intriguing research area. This knowledge will result in the development of more diverse and robust polymeric structures capable of elastic change on demand, which would vastly broaden our capabilities to control biological responses and mimic biological tissues. The educational and outreach activities of this project will enhance science participation of women and underrepresented groups in undergraduate and graduate research. The project will also aim to increase public awareness of polymer networks and engagement with science through knowledge dissemination at the Birmingham Science Center. The education and outreach efforts will provide awareness of UAB biomedical research community toward a need for new polymer-based materials and contribute to the economic competitiveness of the USA in this field. <br/><br/>This project will explore the internal architecture- and architecture hierarchy-regulated rigidity of thin hydrogel coatings. The coatings will be obtained as multilayer hydrogels using sequential adsorption of polymers at surfaces. The following aims will be pursued: (a) understanding the effect of molecular weight of a non-sacrificial polymer on multilayer hydrogel stratification and mechanical properties; (b) investigating the effect of multilayer crosslinking on hydrogel stratification and mechanical properties; and (c) understanding the role of polymer chain hydrophobicity on multilayer hydrogel stratification. The main fundamental significance of the proposed study will be in obtaining new insights into the structure-property relationships between nanostructured multilayer networks and their stimuli-responsive and mechanical properties. This research will impact the development of a new type of polymer hydrogel with architecture hierarchy-regulated rigidity and will provide a fundamental understanding of the physicochemical properties of these materials. The specific impact of the proposed study will be in (i) developing novel copolymers and new types of planar hydrogels with controlled internal architecture hierarchy, (ii) generating new knowledge on the effect of architecture hierarchy on dimensional changes and mechanical responses of the stratified hydrogels; and (iii) opening new prospects for developing hydrogel structures as self-transformable materials for controlled drug delivery, and in rigidity-directed transport in microfluidic environments.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
