Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering - Theses

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Subject: drug delivery × Subject: atomic force microscopy × Start date: 2010 × End date: 2019 ×

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    The mechanical characterisation of nanostructured biomaterials
    Best, James Paul ( 2013)
    Hydrogel materials have demonstrated unique potential for biomedical application in areas ranging from macroscopic tissue engineering scaffolds to targeted nanoparticles for in vivo therapeutic delivery. Such propensity for biological application is largely due to the inherently high degree of hydration and low rigidity of hydrogel networks, which, being similar to those of natural tissue, often lead to good biocompatibility. The mechanics and nanostructure of such materials have been reported to have a significant effect on biological processes; from cellular interaction and fenestration clearance, to capillary flow and dynamics during circulation. This thesis examines novel methods forthe characterisation of both nanostructured planar and particulate hydrogel systems, using atomic force microscopy (AFM) force spectroscopy techniques in physiological buffer. The mechanical properties and material parameters for soft nanostructured biomaterials (thiol-modified poly(methacrylic acid) and poly(L-glutamic acid)) in various architectures (planar film, core-shell particle, free-standing capsule, and nanoporous particle) are herein investigated. It was found that a wide variety of soft structures could be characterised mechanically, and the corresponding results interpreted according to established theories and models for compressive deformation. As such, evaluation of the Young’s modulus for the hydrogel systems investigated in this thesis demonstrate the crucial role that system architecture and network density play in the resilience of soft structures to applied force. Compressive forces which occur in the biological domain, such as for cellular internalisation and soft-tissue cell retention, were subsequently linked to conclusions drawn from AFM measurements. Such preliminary investigations showed that both intrinsic and extrinsic properties of nanostructured hydrogels influenced cellular interaction; thereby forming the basis for further mechanobiological studies, allowing for the future rational design of nanostructured hydrogel biomaterial systems for in vivo biomedical applications.