Hydrogel-based materials constitute a multibillion-dollar market with commercial applications ranging from consumer products to enhanced oil recovery. Due to their mechanical tunability and biocompatibility, hydrogels are also of great interest for regenerative medicine; however, their commercial use in this area is limited by long regulatory approval timelines and a lack of efficacy in clinical trials. Addressing these issues can often lead to competing strategies, as simpler material design is favored for faster regulatory approval yet more complex models may be needed for efficacy in <i>in vivo</i> environments. Strategies to tune hydrogel properties <i>without altering the overall chemical composition</i> could advance both materials efficacy and the approval process. Hence, our work is focused on the control of synthetic hydrogels using monomer sequence-based strategies to vary properties while maintaining polymer backbone chemistry. In this talk, I will focus on two specific approaches. Our first approach investigates sequence-property relationships using a model system, polypeptoids (N-substituted glycines), which are synthetic, sequence-defined materials that are produced via stepwise, solid-phase methods. This work will describe the effects of various monomer sequences on polypeptoid hydrogel degradation, specifically by hydrolytic, oxidative, and enzymatic means. In our second approach, we investigate the control of hydrogel mechanics using specific end groups for cross-linking poly(ethylene glycol) macromers, a commercially available polymer with a history of regulatory approval. We anticipate this work will elucidate general sequence-property relationships that may be applied to hydrogels from many types of polymers to enhance biomaterial performance in devices ranging from therapeutic delivery vehicles to tissue replacements.

Hierarchical control of hydrogel properties with precise polymer microstructure

2019 Fall National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.