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Carbon dioxide assisted polymer micro/nanofabrication

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2005, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Chemical Engineering.
Polymer-based biomedical devices with micro/nano-sized features have attracted a great deal of interest from industries and academia. The common polymer processing methods involve either organic solvents or temperatures above the glass transition temperature (T g ), which is undesirable for biomedical applications. On the basis of different properties near polymer surfaces from those in the bulk, we introduce subcritical fluids (particularly carbon dioxide, CO 2 ) into polymer processing at the micro/nanoscale to produce and assemble these devices at low temperatures. In this study, the atomic force microscopy (AFM)/nanoparticles approach has been applied to evaluate the effect of CO 2 on the T g gradient near the polymer surface. Meanwhile, neutron reflectivity is utilized to measure CO 2 –enhanced chain mobility at the polymer surfaces below the polymer bulk T g and to investigate the competition between CO 2 enhancement and substrate confinement on the chain mobility. With this information, we demonstrated the CO 2 -assisted bonding of polymeric structures at both micro and nano scales and established guidelines for this technique. In addition, nano-sized fillers were added to polymer substrates to improve the dimensional stability and reinforce the polymeric nanostructures by forming strong interactions between the nano-fillers and polymer chains. The research results were utilized to produce, assemble, and functionalize well-defined three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds for tissue engineering. A variety of polymer microfabrication techniques were developed to produce planar biodegradable polymeric scaffold skeletons with open structures. Then the CO 2 bonding technique was applied to assemble these skeletons to a 3D scaffold at a low temperature. These microfabricated scaffolds have a uniform and well-defined geometry and structure, which allows for the study of cell attachment, spreading, and proliferation in scaffolds in a controlled and logical manner. Our research initiates a new field of polymer processing and will be of great benefit to the advancement of polymer thin film and polymer micro/nanofabrication technologies. With the presence of CO 2 , fabrication and assembly of micro/nanodevices can be performed at a biologically benign temperature, which is suitable for biomedical applications.
L. Lee (Advisor)
245 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Yang, Y. (2005). Carbon dioxide assisted polymer micro/nanofabrication [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1117591862

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Yang, Yong. Carbon dioxide assisted polymer micro/nanofabrication. 2005. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1117591862.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Yang, Yong. "Carbon dioxide assisted polymer micro/nanofabrication." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1117591862

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)