Synthetic Routes to Photoactive Nanostructured Hydrogels

In this work we present preliminary results aimed at the fabrication of nanostructured hydrogels based on self-assembled amphiphilic block copolymers. While the current work is focused on the use of BCPs containing polystyrene and poly(ethylene oxide), the approach presented can be generalized to any amphiphilic system and extended to materials containing multiple polymer block sequences. The emphasis of the work presented is concerned with the integration of photoreversible agents into the framework of the nanostructured material, in an attempt to gain external control (through wavelength dependent responses) over various properties of the hydrogel, including size, water content, elasticity, mechanical integrity, permeability, and self-adhesion. The ultimate goal is to design a system with which one can tune these properties remotely without direct contact being made with the hydrogel itself. The results presented will focus on the synthetic strategies to form the component block copolymers, the morphological characteristics of the zerogels (unswollen materials), and preliminary studies involving the spatially controlled integration of photoreactive elements into these structured materials.