{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/111536"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/111536","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Topographically and Mechanically Tunable PNIPAM Scaffolds","abstract":"Poly(N-isopropyl-acrylamide) (PNIPAM) is a thermoresponsive polymer with a wide range of biological applications, including drug delivery, biosensing, and tissue engineering. The tunability of the structural and mechanical properties of PNIPAM makes it particularly at- tractive in emulating cell environments and dynamic cytoskeletal deformations. This thesis discusses PNIPAM's properties and applications in different forms i.e., solution, brushes, hydrogels, and surface patterned hydrogels, with specific focus on lithographically patterned substrates coated with PNIPAM films. The scaffolds are investigated for structural and me- chanical responses to thermally driven changes in the PNIPAM hydration states using atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM measurements on our lithographically patterned substrates show that the substrate pattern and coating method enable the fabrication of scaffolds with different topographic and mechanical properties across a wide thermal range. Importantly, these scaffolds exhibit variations in both lateral topography and Young's modulus, rendering them well suited for investigations of differential mechanical stresses experienced by cells and cell membranes.","abstract_html":"Poly(N-isopropyl-acrylamide) (PNIPAM) is a thermoresponsive polymer with a wide range of biological applications, including drug delivery, biosensing, and tissue engineering. The tunability of the structural and mechanical properties of PNIPAM makes it particularly at- tractive in emulating cell environments and dynamic cytoskeletal deformations. This thesis discusses PNIPAM's properties and applications in different forms i.e., solution, brushes, hydrogels, and surface patterned hydrogels, with specific focus on lithographically patterned substrates coated with PNIPAM films. The scaffolds are investigated for structural and me- chanical responses to thermally driven changes in the PNIPAM hydration states using atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM measurements on our lithographically patterned substrates show that the substrate pattern and coating method enable the fabrication of scaffolds with different topographic and mechanical properties across a wide thermal range. 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The tunability of the structural and mechanical properties of PNIPAM makes it particularly at- tractive in emulating cell environments and dynamic cytoskeletal deformations. This thesis discusses PNIPAM's properties and applications in different forms i.e., solution, brushes, hydrogels, and surface patterned hydrogels, with specific focus on lithographically patterned substrates coated with PNIPAM films. The scaffolds are investigated for structural and me- chanical responses to thermally driven changes in the PNIPAM hydration states using atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM measurements on our lithographically patterned substrates show that the substrate pattern and coating method enable the fabrication of scaffolds with different topographic and mechanical properties across a wide thermal range. 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The results show that the coating method and the features of the used substrate allow the fabrication of different surface topographies with biologically relevant mechanics."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Topographically and Mechanically Tunable PNIPAM Scaffolds"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Ashkar, Rana"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Kaplan, Cihan Nadir","Nguyen, Vinh"],"dc:contributor.department":["Physics"],"dc:creator":["Chen, Chi"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2022-08-17T08:00:09Z"],"dc:date.available":["2022-08-17T08:00:09Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2022-08-16"],"dc:description.abstract":["Poly(N-isopropyl-acrylamide) (PNIPAM) is a thermoresponsive polymer with a wide range of biological applications, including drug delivery, biosensing, and tissue engineering. 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The results show that the coating method and the features of the used substrate allow the fabrication of different surface topographies with biologically relevant mechanics."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:35425"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/111536"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"],"dc:subject":["poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)","thermoresponsive scaffolds","Young's modulus","atomic force microscopy","force maps"],"dc:title":["Topographically and Mechanically Tunable PNIPAM Scaffolds"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Physics"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:06Z"}