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Polymer Chemistry 2018 Polymer Sciences
ISSN: 2471-9935 Page 71
March 26-28, 2018
Vienna, Austria
3rd Edition of International Conference and Exhibition on
Polymer Chemistry
Responsive hydrogels are cross-linked soft matter, capable
of change in a physical property upon encountering
certain stimuli or changes in surrounding conditions. These
hydrogels are promising for a wide variety of applications
including controlled drug delivery, wound dressings, contact
lenses, soft robotics, and tissue engineering. Notwithstanding,
some responsive and functional properties compromise the
mechanical properties of the hydrogels. Therefore, strategies
that produce hydrogels with improved mechanical properties
and multiple responses continue to be in high demand despite
several advances in the field. Hydrophobic associations, such
as dynamic crosslinks, offer a unique strategy to achieve
hydrogels with efficient stimuli responses and significant
mechanical strength. Moreover, the simple supramolecular
interactions within a hydrophobic association hydrogel can
produce synergistic effects in the stimuli responsive behavior.
This presentation will discuss some of our recent work in
designing and creating highly efficient responsive hydrogels
based upon simple supramolecular architectures, such as
hydrophobic associations. Such strategies offer benefits
including facile preparation of self-healing hydrogels, over
95% enhancement in thermoresponsive light modulation
than a conventional system, and a unique soft-stiff thermo-
mechanical behavior.
Biography
Silas Owusu-Nkwantabisah is a Research Scientist in the Materials Inter-
facial Science Department of the Kodak Research Laboratories, Rochester,
New York. He received his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Maine
under Professor Carl Tripp. Before joining Kodak in 2015, he was a Post-doc-
toral Associate with Professor Alan Lesser in the Polymer Science and En-
gineering Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His re-
search interests include responsive polymers, soft matter, surface and col-
loid chemistry, polymer processing (supercritical CO2 and melt extrusion),
advanced composites and stereolithography.
Efficient optical and mechanical responses of a
hydrophobic association hydrogel
Silas Owusu-Nkwantabisah
Kodak Research Laboratories, USA
Silas Owusu-Nkwantabisah, Polym Sci, Volume 4
DOI: 10.4172/2471-9935-C1-008