Smith College is among the largest women’s liberal arts colleges in the United States. Over the past five years at Smith, I have led a diverse group of undergraduate women in the design, synthesis, and characterization of materials based on the reactive, azlactone-functionalized polymer poly(2-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazactone) (PVDMA). In this presentation, I will discuss our efforts to harness the reactivity of the azlactone side chains of PVDMA for the assembly of multifunctional and stimuli-responsive hydrogels. Chemically crosslinked gels can be rapidly assembled (i.e., seconds to minutes) in organic solvents when PVDMA is mixed with a diamine or diol. Residual azlactones not consumed during crosslinking can be exploited to further functionalize these gels with hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and macromolecular amines that influence the physicochemical properties of these materials when transferred to aqueous solution. I will discuss our work focused on the light-initiated fabrication of gels through photo-uncaging of protected diamines. This strategy for gel fabrication permits 2D and 3D patterning of functional groups within the gel matrix. Finally, I will describe the fabrication of shape-changing gels that fold or roll in response to an external stimulus. Throughout the talk, I will highlight strategies that have aided me in building an undergraduate research program focused on polymer chemistry at a liberal arts institution.<br/>

Polymer chemistry with undergraduate women: Reactive, azlactone-functionalized polymers for the fabrication of multifunctional biomaterials

2019 Spring National Meeting

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