Description |
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Abstract: Designing
scaffolds for regenerative tissue engineering relies upon creating a suitable
microenvironment for directing biological responses. This work aims to further
characterize functionalized alginate hydrogels designed to mimic the extracellular
matrix. We investigated the effects of reactant concentrations, ligand loading density,
and peptide spacer arm length on reaction ... read moreefficiency, hydrogel mechanical properties,
and gelation kinetics. Altering reactant concentrations had the greatest effect on both
reaction yield and hydrogel performance. Low activation conditions resulted in over
twice the yield relative to high activation chemistry while producing stiffer gels that
possessed improved gelation kinetics. These results indicate that both the side
reactions and structural modifications caused during functionalization affect hydrogel
formation. This work provides deeper understanding into the interplay between alginate
functionalization chemistry and hydrogel properties. These insights are important in
creating 3D scaffolds that accurately mimic the desired microenvironments for supporting
and directing key cellular processes.
Thesis
(M.S.)--Tufts University, 2016.
Submitted to the
Dept. of Chemical and Biological
Engineering.
Advisor: Darryl
Williams.
Committee: Ayse Asatekin, and Catherine
Kuo.
Keywords: Chemical engineering, and Biomedical
engineering.read less
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