Polymer and Organic Materials Commons^™

Beeswax Wraps As An Alternative To Single-Use Plastics, Sarah Skiver

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The project goal was to compare the food storage efficacy of sustainable beeswax wraps verses the single-use plastic methods of resealable plastic sandwich bags and plastic cling wrap. The goal was also to test the reusability of the beeswax wraps, as it is a key advantage of beeswax wraps that is advertised. The project purpose was to explore sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives to single use plastics, which are harmful to the environment in both their production and their disposal. Food spoilage was compared in beeswax wrap, plastic sandwich bags, and plastic cling wrap, and spoilage was also observed in a …

Characterization Of Thermal Gelation Properties In Bioresorbable Thermally Activated Hydrogel Polymers For Hernia Surgery Applications, Alexander Mayfield

All Theses

Hydrogel adhesives are a new class of materials with excellent biocompatibility, which makes them very attractive for biomaterial applications. It has been previously shown that Tetronic T1107, a four-arm poly (propylene oxide)-poly (ethylene oxide) (PPO-PEO) block copolymer, is useful as a chemical crosslinking thermo-responsive hydrogel for bioadhesive applications. The end groups of this polymer are modified with acrylate and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) functional groups. The acrylate end group gives the polymer cohesive properties with long-range chemical crosslinking using dithiothreitol (DTT), while the NHS end group gives the polymer adhesive properties through bonding with amines found in organic tissue. It was found …

Synthesis And Characterizations Of Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Materials For Biomedical Applications, Shuangcheng Tang

Doctoral Dissertations

Stimuli-responsive polymeric materials have been now widely researched toward the biomedical applications including therapeutic delivery, bio-sensor surface modification, and tissue-engineering, etc., considering their desirable biocompatibility, tunable properties, and sensitivity toward physiological stimuli. Beyond the monoresponsive materials, polymers with responsiveness simultaneously toward multiple stimuli are paid great attention to because the control of responsive behaviors could be achieved at a more accurately and delicately level in a complex local environment. However, many challenges still exist such as maintaining integrity of the structure, shaping the morphology at micro- and macro-scale, and regulating a controllable and predictable transition behavior.

The objectives of this …