Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Development Of Stimuli-Responsive Liposomes For Drug Delivery Applications, Jinchao Lou

Doctoral Dissertations

Liposomes are spherical nano-assemblies that are proven to be effective drug delivery vehicles. Due to their unique bilayer structures, they are able to encapsulate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs in their aqueous inner core and membrane bilayers, respectively. While liposomal delivery platforms exbibit numerous advantages, the therapeutic efficacy of these platforms would be enhanced by developing triggered release strategies such that one can tune the timing and location of the cargo release in a controlled manner. In this dissertation, we mainly present the development of stimuli-responsive liposomes targeting different disease-associated metabolites utilizing rationally designed synthetic lipid switches.

In Chapter 2, …

Impact Of Macromolecular Design On Self-Assembly Properties Of Block Copolymers: Effect Of Tunable Chain Flexibility And Chain Topology, Kamlesh Ramesh Bornani

Doctoral Dissertations

The generation of well-ordered complex structures from constituent block copolymeric building blocks by the spontaneous process of self-assembly is useful in various technologies. The well-defined 3D structures are dictated by complex energetic interplays and their shape is controllable by both preparative conditions and macromolecular design. This dissertation work aims at exploring the effect of chain flexibility and chain topology design changes on phase behavior of block copolymers in solution. Further, we exploit the tunable flexibility of the semiflexible polymers in studying dispersion and controlling macroscale thermal properties in polymer nanocomposites.

The experimental design is based on two model systems: The …

Solution And Surface Properties Of Architecturally- And Compositionally-Complex Block Copolymers And Their Binary Mixtures, Jesse Lawrence Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

The spontaneous generation of complex structures from polymeric building blocks provides a simple yet effective route to create useful soft matter structures having potential application in a variety of nanotechnologies. The topology, chemical structure, block composition, and sequence of the constituent building blocks of polymers are tunable through synthetic chemistry. This tunability offers attractive opportunities to generate complex, yet well-defined structures with control over the geometry, packing symmetry, and microdomain structure. This thesis work involves the study of the self-assembly behaviors of architecturally complex amphiphilic block copolymers (ABCs). ABCs are composed of two or more chemically distinct blocks that are …