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Production and Mechanical Properties Characterization of Granular Hydrogels
This project involves in depth study on the mechanical behavior of granular hydrogel materials to enable the production of dynamic tissue engineering scaffolds.
The miniaturization of hydrogel networks is of particular interest in the biomaterials community as it can mitigate some of the design limitations inherent to bulk hydrogels, such as independent tuning of porosity and stiffness. To this end, hydrogel microspheres have shown their utility in 3D cell culture platforms, cell and drug delivery vehicles, and regenerative medicine.
Hydrogel microspheres can be templated via batch-based emulsion or microfluidic emulsion techniques where the formed water-in-oil droplets are cross-linked into elastic networks. The major advantage of microfluidic platforms is the excellent size and shape control. In this context, we leverage the microfluidic templating method to obtain hydrogel microspheres with defined size and stiffnesses.
Therefore, in designing granular hydrogels, understanding the rheological behavior of the system is of paramount importance, as many cell-extracellular matrix interactions are dictated by the mechanical properties of the cellular microenvironment.
The miniaturization of hydrogel networks is of particular interest in the biomaterials community as it can mitigate some of the design limitations inherent to bulk hydrogels, such as independent tuning of porosity and stiffness. To this end, hydrogel microspheres have shown their utility in 3D cell culture platforms, cell and drug delivery vehicles, and regenerative medicine. Hydrogel microspheres can be templated via batch-based emulsion or microfluidic emulsion techniques where the formed water-in-oil droplets are cross-linked into elastic networks. The major advantage of microfluidic platforms is the excellent size and shape control. In this context, we leverage the microfluidic templating method to obtain hydrogel microspheres with defined size and stiffnesses. Therefore, in designing granular hydrogels, understanding the rheological behavior of the system is of paramount importance, as many cell-extracellular matrix interactions are dictated by the mechanical properties of the cellular microenvironment.
During this project, we aim to take a closer look at the mechanical behavior of granular hydrogels. Students will mainly be involved in production and mechanical characterization of hydrogel microspheres. We will specifically look at:
• individual and collective elasticity of the microspheres
• microgel packing density
• surface properties and contact forces
**Tasks**
The assessments will be performed using various microfluidic, and bulk mechanical testing techniques.
The tasks will include
• microfluidic production of hydrogel microparticles
• purification and jamming into granular hydrogels
• osmotic compression experiments
• confocal microscopy imaging and analysis
• stiffness measurements on the individual microgels and granular hydrogels
The students will be given necessary training for microfabrication techniques. The results will be summarized in a report and a presentation.
During this project, we aim to take a closer look at the mechanical behavior of granular hydrogels. Students will mainly be involved in production and mechanical characterization of hydrogel microspheres. We will specifically look at:
• individual and collective elasticity of the microspheres
• microgel packing density
• surface properties and contact forces
**Tasks**
The assessments will be performed using various microfluidic, and bulk mechanical testing techniques. The tasks will include
• microfluidic production of hydrogel microparticles
• purification and jamming into granular hydrogels
• osmotic compression experiments
• confocal microscopy imaging and analysis
• stiffness measurements on the individual microgels and granular hydrogels
The students will be given necessary training for microfabrication techniques. The results will be summarized in a report and a presentation.
Interested students can contact Börte Emiroglu (boerte.emiroglu@chem.ethz.ch) and Prof. Mark Tibbitt (mtibbitt@ethz.ch).
Interested students can contact Börte Emiroglu (boerte.emiroglu@chem.ethz.ch) and Prof. Mark Tibbitt (mtibbitt@ethz.ch).