Microgel-based coatings and their use as self-healing, dynamic substrates for bioapplications

Spears, Mark William

Title:

Microgel-based coatings and their use as self-healing, dynamic substrates for bioapplications

dc.contributor.advisor	Lyon, L. Andrew
dc.contributor.author	Spears, Mark William
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Fernández, Facundo M.
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Dickson, Robert M.
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Oyelere, Adegboyega K.
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Fernandez-Nieves, Alberto
dc.contributor.department	Chemistry and Biochemistry
dc.date.accessioned	2015-01-12T20:51:57Z
dc.date.available	2015-01-12T20:51:57Z
dc.date.created	2014-12
dc.date.issued	2014-11-17
dc.date.submitted	December 2014
dc.date.updated	2015-01-12T20:51:57Z
dc.description.abstract	Microgels are solvent swollen, cross-linked polymer macromolecules of micro or nanoscale dimensions. In this work, microgels are used as versatile building blocks in layer-by-layer assemblies to form thin coatings. While conceptually simple materials, these microgel-based films actually possess extremely complex behavior as evidenced by two particular areas. First, microgel films have self-healing properties, allowing them to rapidly recover from damage in the presence of solvent. The healing step requires rearrangement of film components, demonstrating the dynamic and mobile nature of the films. Second, fibroblasts display complex behavior on microgel films arising from the properties of the coating. A chemical crosslinking treatment of the film affects the film network structure in a concentration-dependent manner. These network changes result in altered mechanical properties that are the primary controlling factor in determining cell behavior at the interface. These data suggest that fibroblasts are not solely controlled by the film elasticity, but rather by the viscoelasticity, and there is a viscoelastic range that results in maximal cell spreading.
dc.description.degree	Ph.D.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1853/53060
dc.language.iso	en_US
dc.publisher	Georgia Institute of Technology
dc.subject	Layer-by-layer
dc.subject	Microgels
dc.subject	Viscoelastic
dc.subject	Self-healing
dc.subject	Thin films
dc.title	Microgel-based coatings and their use as self-healing, dynamic substrates for bioapplications
dc.type	Text
dc.type.genre	Dissertation
dspace.entity.type	Publication
local.contributor.advisor	Lyon, L. Andrew
local.contributor.corporatename	School of Chemistry and Biochemistry
local.contributor.corporatename	College of Sciences
relation.isAdvisorOfPublication	6a99c0e3-9c1a-4564-ad17-9be174626f75
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	f1725b93-3ab8-4c47-a4c3-3596c03d6f1e
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	85042be6-2d68-4e07-b384-e1f908fae48a
thesis.degree.level	Doctoral