CAREER: Integration of Sophisticated Stimuli-Response Capabilities into Highly-Distensible Nanostructured Hydrogels

职业：将复杂的刺激响应能力集成到高可扩展的纳米结构水凝胶中

• 批准号: 0645781
• 负责人: Travis Bailey
• 金额: $ 46万
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-02-01 至 2012-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0645781&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Integration; Sophisticated; Stimuli; Response

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:Responsive hydrogel technologies are currently being pursued in a range of applications, including tissue scaffolds, chemical release agents, biosensors, and artificial muscles. However, their efficacy has been severely restricted by an inability to introduce accurate and tunable response mechanisms in a controlled fashion. This is often attributable to the inherently ill-defined structure of most systems, with gelation based on spatially random cross-links within the material, or poorly formed solid phase domains distributed non-uniformly throughout the sample. The ultimate goal of the research activities proposed in this CAREER award is the successful generation of a new class of highly distensible, nanostructured hydrogels, capable of sophisticated and tunable responses to a range of external stimuli. The first generation of hydrogels are to be fabricated by exploiting the melt-state self-assembly of sphere forming block copolymer amphiphiles, as extremely versatile templates for more highly functioning materials. Our goal is to generate hydrogels with integrated functionality permitting one to continuously tune, through external stimuli (e.g., temperature, pH, light, etc.), the dimensions, geometry, and size distribution of both the solution and solid phases in these gels, all with exacting control. At the same time, we aim to incorporate internal triggers that can induce more drastic material responses to an external stimulus, such as rapid and discontinuous changes in volume, modulus, or domain permeability. Extension of these ideas to non-spherical morphologies is expected to provide access to materials in which anisotropic swelling control is possible. While the preliminary work proposed focuses on the synthesis of the basic hydrogels and evaluation of their inherent response characteristics, the predominance of the work will be focused on the integration of advanced response mechanisms through synthetic modifications to the constituent block copolymers at the molecular level. The proposed research will be instrumental in the advancement of knowledge concerning the design of next generation, "intelligent" or responsive materials, capable of multiple simultaneous stimulus-induced behaviors, including: dissolution, swelling anisotropy, continuous and discontinuous expansion (and contraction), bending (and unbending), reversible self-adhesion, shape recovery, and triggerable chemical release. NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:The research proposed in this CAREER award is directed at the successful generation of a new class of super-absorbent polymeric materials that possess the unique capability of changing their most basic characteristics, such as shape, size, toughness, and permeability in direct response to an applied stimulus, such as UV light, heat, or an electric field, to name just a few. These materials are anticipated to have direct implications in advanced drug delivery, improved implant compatibility, degradable tissue scaffolds, artificial muscles, chemical and biological sensors, and biocatalysis. Thus, the proposed research is expected to have broad impact in a number of technologically important areas in which societal quality of life can be deeply affected. These research activities will be integrated with student education in a range of capacities, in an effort to bring the element of discovery in learning to promising young researchers. For example, the extensive inclusion of undergraduate students as active researchers on this project, integration of the results directly into course curricula, and the dissemination of results through undergraduate, graduate, and departmental seminars around the country and world permit this cutting edge research to become a mainstream learning tool. In addition, this CAREER award is also being used to develop annual one-day interactive research workshops for regional (Colorado and Wyoming) high school science teachers, in which recent topics in nanotechnology, biotechnology, and biomaterials can be discussed with world experts. The goal of these workshops is to provide each of the teachers with the hands-on materials to bring the latest research to life in their own classrooms, such that high school students will be able to share the excitement of the latest research at Colorado State University and around the world.

技术摘要：目前正在一系列应用中追求响应性水凝胶技术，包括组织支架，化学释放剂，生物传感器和人造肌肉。但是，由于无法以受控的方式引入准确，可调的响应机制，因此严格限制了它们的功效。这通常归因于大多数系统的固有定义不明的结构，凝胶化基于材料中的空间随机交联，或在整个样品中不均匀分布的固相结构域形成较差。本职业奖提出的研究活动的最终目标是成功地创建了一类新的高度扩散的纳米结构水凝胶，能够对一系列外部刺激产生复杂且可调的反应。第一代水凝胶应通过利用球体形成块共聚物两亲物的熔体态自组装来制造，作为极其功能更高的材料的极具用途的模板。我们的目标是生成具有集成功能的水凝胶，允许一个人通过外部刺激（例如温度，pH，光等）连续调整这些水凝胶，这些凝胶中溶液和固体相的尺寸，几何形状以及尺寸分布均具有严格的控制。同时，我们旨在合并内部触发器，这些触发因素可以引起对外部刺激的更剧烈的材料反应，例如体积，模量或域渗透性的快速和不连续变化。将这些思想扩展到非球形形态有望提供对各向异性肿胀控制的材料的访问。尽管拟议的初步工作集中于基本水凝胶的合成及其固有的响应特征的评估，但工作的优势将集中于通过合成对分子水平的组成块共聚物的合成修饰的高级响应机制的整合。拟议的研究将有助于有关下一代设计，“智能”或响应材料的知识的进步，能够同时进行多种刺激引起的行为，包括：溶解，溶出性各向异性，连续且不连续的扩张（和收缩），弯曲（和无弯曲（以及无弯曲（以及不可逆转），可逆的自我添加），可恢复的自我效果，并释放出可逆的自我效果，并逐步释放，并具有化学效果。非技术摘要：本职业奖提出的研究致力于成功地生成一类新的超吸收性聚合物材料，具有改变其最基本特征的独特能力，例如直接响应对应用的刺激，例如uv光，热场，热场，或者，以命名一定的刺激，以直接响应施加的刺激。预计这些材料将对先进的药物输送，改善植入物兼容性，可降解的组织支架，人造肌肉，化学和生物传感器以及生物催化有直接影响。因此，预计拟议的研究将在许多技术上重要的领域产生广泛的影响，在这些领域中，社会质量可以深深影响。这些研究活动将与学生的教育纳入各种能力，以使发现的元素在学习中有前途的年轻研究人员。例如，将本科生作为该项目的积极研究人员，将结果直接整合到课程课程中，以及通过本科，研究生和部门在全国范围内和世界各地的部门研讨会传播结果，使这项尖端研究成为主流学习工具。此外，该职业奖还用于开发针对地区（科罗拉多州和怀俄明州）高中科学教师的年度一日互动研究研讨会，其中纳米技术，生物技术和生物材料的最新主题可以与世界专家讨论。这些研讨会的目的是为每位老师提供动手的材料，以使最新的研究在自己的教室中栩栩如生，以便高中生将能够分享科罗拉多州立大学和世界各地的最新研究的兴奋。