Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Metal-Promoted Self-Assembly Of Collagen Mimetic Peptides Into Biofunctional Scaffolds For Stem Cell Delivery With The Aim Of Tissue Regeneration, Kevin Strauss

Open Access Theses

Collagen is a strong, sturdy, but malleable, protein found abundantly in the extracellular matrix. Consequently, it has become an invaluable biomaterial for use in regenerative medicine. However, natural collagen poses difficulties when it comes to customization and structural control, as well as the risk of infectious prions from animal sources. Our approach utilizes shorter, synthetic collagen mimetic peptide sequences. These peptides retain the incredible triple helical stability of natural collagen but can be modified with versatile metal-binding ligands. In the presence of an appropriate metal ion, the peptides self-assemble into diverse, three-dimensional morphologies. The peptide NCoH, functionalized with N-terminal NTA …

Synthesis, Morphological Control, Dispersion Stabilization And In Situ Self-Assembly Of Noble Metal Nanostructures Using Multidentate Resorcinarene Surfactants, Sangbum Han

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

In this dissertation, a detailed investigation on the influence of various macrocyclic resorcinarene surfactants in determining the morphology, stabilization and self-assembly of mono- and bi- metallic nanoparticles was undertaken. Chapter 2 describes the influence of resorcinarene surfactants functionalized with amine- and thiol- headgroups in determining the morphology of monometallic Pt nanoparticles synthesized via the Brust-Schiffrin reaction. We found that while resorcinarene benzylthiol can lead to the formation of highly branched Pt nanostructures, resorcinarene amine can lead to the formation of anisotropic crystalline Pt nanoparticles. Further, we have evaluated the influence of resorcinarene ligands in determining the catalytic activity of these …

Size And Chemistry Selective Membranes From Block Polymer Templates, Ryan A. Mulvenna

Open Access Dissertations

The use of block polymers continues to gain attention with their myriad applications in industry for advanced applications in biology, medicine, electronics, and separations. The ability of block polymers to self assemble into ordered states on the nanometer level makes these materials suitable for applications that mandate structural order on this scale. By tuning the chemistry of these block domains, we may explore their utilization for advanced separations.

In this dossier, we detail the efforts into the controlled radical polymerization of polyisoprene-b-polystyrene-b-poly( N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PI-PS-PDMA) via. a facile reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) mechanism. For this …

Scanning Probe Investigations Of Multidentate Thiol And Spatially Confined Porphyrin Nanoassemblies Using Nanoscale Lithography, Xianglin Zhai Zhai

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Approaches to prepare spatially selective surfaces were developed in this dissertation for constructing nanopatterns of organic thin film materials. Nanoscale surface patterns were prepared using immersion particle lithography and scanning probe lithography combined with organothiol chemistry. Organic thin films and nanomaterials can be patterned with tunable periodicities and designed shapes by selecting the diameter of mesospheres used as surface masks or scanning probe lithography, respectively. The surface platforms of well-defined nanopatterns are ideal for high resolution investigations using scanning probe microscopy (SPM). Local measurements of surface properties and conductive properties combined with nanolithography were accomplished at the molecular level. Sample …