Polymer Science Commons^™

Inhalable Nanocomposites And Anticancer Agents For Cancer Therapy, Nathanael A. Stocke

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Cancer is designated as the leading cause of mortality worldwide and lung cancer is responsible for nearly 30% of all cancer related deaths. Over the last few decades mortality rates have only marginally increased and rates of recurrence remain high. These factors, among others, suggest the need for more innovative treatment modalities in lung cancer therapy. Targeted pulmonary delivery is well established for treating pulmonary diseases such as asthma and provides a promising platform for lung cancer therapy. Increasing local deposition of anticancer agents (ACAs) and reducing systemic exposure of these toxic moieties could lead to better therapeutic outcomes and …

Evaporation-Induced Formation Of Well-Ordered Surface Patterns On Polymer Films, Wei Sun

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Various techniques of fabricating surface patterns of small scales have been widely studied due to the potential applications of surface patterns in a variety of areas. It is a challenge to fabricate well-ordered surface area efficiently and economically. Evaporation-induced surface patterning is a promising approach to fabricate well-ordered surface patterns over a large area at low cost. In this study, the evaporation-induced surface patterns with controllable geometrical characteristics have been constructed. The dewetting kinetics on deformable substrate is also investigated.

Using simple templates to control the geometry and the evaporation behavior of a droplet of volatile solvent, various gradient surface …

Layer-By-Layer Assemblies For Membrane-Based Enzymatic Catalysis, Andrew R. Tomaino

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

While considerable progress has been made towards understanding the effect that membrane-based layer-by-layer (LbL) immobilizations have on the activity and stability of enzymatic catalysis, detailed work is required in order to fundamentally quantify and optimize the functionalization and operating conditions that define these properties. This work aims to probe deeper into the nature of transport mechanisms by use of pressure-induced, flow-driven enzymatic catalysis of LbL-functionalized hydrophilized poly(vinyldiene) (PVDF)-poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)-poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH)-glucose oxidase (GOx) membranes. These membranes were coupled in a sealed series following cellulose acetate (CA) membranes for the elimination of product accumulation within the feed-side solution during operation. …

Generation Of Multicomponent Polymer Blend Microparticles Using Droplet Evaporation Technique And Modeling Evaporation Of Binary Droplet Containing Non-Volatile Solute, Venkat N. Rajagopalan

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Recently, considerable attention has been focused on the generation of nano- and micrometer scale multicomponent polymer particles with specifically tailored mechanical, electrical and optical properties. As only a few polymer-polymer pairs are miscible, the set of multicomponent polymer systems achievable by conventional methods, such as melt blending, is severely limited in property ranges. Therefore, researchers have been evaluating synthesis methods that can arbitrarily blend immiscible solvent pairs, thus expanding the range of properties that are practical. The generation of blended microparticles by evaporating a co-solvent from aerosol droplets containing two dissolved immiscible polymers in solution seems likely to exhibit a …

Applications Of Antioxidant And Anti-Inflammatory Polymers To Inhibit Injury And Disease, David B. Cochran

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

There is an undeniable link between oxidative stress, inflammation, and disease. Currently, approaches using antioxidant therapies have been largely unsuccessful due to poor delivery and bioavailability. Responding to these limitations, we have developed classes of polymer and delivery systems that can overcome the challenges of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory therapy. In our initial studies, nanoparticles of poly(trolox), a polymeric form of trolox, were surface-modified with antibodies. This modification allows for specific targeting to endothelial cells, affording controllable and localized protection against oxidative stress. We have shown these targeted nanoparticles bind, internalize, and provide protection against oxidative stress generation and cytotoxicity from …

Characterization Of And Controlling Morphology Of Ultra-Thin Nanocomposites, Guy C. Laine

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Ultrathin film nanocomposites are becoming increasingly important for specialized performance of commercial coatings. Critical challenges for ultrathin film nanocomposites include their synthesis and characterization as well as their performance properties, including surface roughness, optical properties (haze, refractive index as examples), and mechanical properties. The objective of this work is to control the surface roughness of ultrathin film nanocomposites by changing the average particle size and the particle volume fraction (loading) of monomodal particle size distributions. This work evaluated one-layer and two-layer films for their surface properties. Monodispersed colloidal silica nanoparticles were incorporated into an acrylate-based monomer system as the model …