Date of Award

Summer 8-9-2018

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Chemistry

Advisor

William M. Gramlich

Second Committee Member

Barbara J.W. Cole

Third Committee Member

Carl P. Tripp

Additional Committee Members

Matthew Brichacek

Michael D. Mason

Abstract

Hydrogels are 3D polymeric networks with high water content and are widely being investigated for biomedical applications such as tissue engineering. Polysaccharides have been used to fabricate hydrogels due to their natural abundance, biocompatibility, and immunogeniety. Additionally, polysaccharide-based hydrogels can provide mechanical and biological cues similar to those of the natural environments. In this work, thiol-norbornene chemistry was used to fabricate polysaccharide-based hydrogels including hyaluronic acid (HA), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs). Hydrogels with tunable physical and mechanical properties were achieved. The properties of these hydrogels were spatiotemporally modified by photopatterning. Also, high stem cell viability was achieved when cells were encapsulated in these hydrogels.

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