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Stimuli-Responsive Polymer-Based Materials and Devices for Controlled and Triggered Release of Small Molecules
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- Author / Creator
- Guo, Siyuan
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This thesis covers the general scope of stimuli-responsive polymers and the concept of controlled drug delivery, with special focus on controlled/triggered release applications of temperature-responsive poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm)-based hydrogels, microgels, their assemblies, and composites. Chapter 2 focuses on investigating the methodology and mechanism of a controlled release system, i.e., a pNIPAm-based microgel-based assembly. Surface modification was utilized to build a chemical barrier to control the molecular interchange between the inside and the outside of the device. The small-molecule diffusion behaviors of the device were studied, and mathematical models were used to describe the behaviors. Chapter 3 focuses on the development of a small-molecule controlled release system, based on the stimuli-responsive hydrogel–microgel composite (HMC). In this work, the small hydrophilic molecule release kinetics were tuned by changing the chemical composition of the material, and the mechanism of the controlled release was investigated based on the interactions between the small molecules and the polymer materials. As a further study of the HMC in controlled drug delivery applications, Chapter 4 discusses the idea of applying the HMC to a multi-drug controlled release system. In addition, four appendices, A, B, C, and D have been added to the end of this dissertation. They contain supporting information for the main chapters, previous related work done before my PhD program, and preliminary experimental results on related research projects.
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- Graduation date
- Spring 2020
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Doctor of Philosophy
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- License
- Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.