Planning: PREC: Improved Properties and Additive Manufacturing of Hydrogels

In this planning grant, funded by the Chemistry Division at NSF, Professor Juana Mendenhall of Morehouse College will work with Professor Stephen Craig at Duke University’s NSF Center for the Chemistry of Molecularly Optimized Networks (MONET) to develop a partnership that could form the basis of a future submission to the ‘Partnerships for Research and Education in Chemistry (PREC)’ program. This collaboration will provide an opportunity for training primarily African American students to learn three-dimensional (3D) printing and new chemistries to improve their mechanical properties in hydrogels. In partnership with MONET, the PREC planning grant will support new educational offerings in chemistry by developing new chemistry courses using MONET-based research tools and hosting technical workshops. This PREC planning grant will also establish a broader community of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) researchers and minority trainees conducting research in macromolecular chemistry and support educational outreach for K-12 students in the metro Atlanta area. Using Additive Manufacturing as a tool to improve hydrogel three-dimensional (3D) structures with precise architecture at various scales will continue to expand over the years. This PREC planning grant will leverage the MONET expertise to study chemical strategies to improve the structure and function of hydrogels. Thrust One aims to develop mechanically robust hydrogels using crosslinking chemistries to improve hydrogel use in tissue engineering applications. Thrust Two will support improving the chemistries of 3D printed scaffolds using mechanophores to create robust 3D scaffolds. Thrust three will guide the synthesis of interpenetrating double-network composite hydrogels containing hyaluronic acid to produce more robust hydrogel networks. Morehouse College, a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) that educates undergraduates of color, will partner with MONET to expand knowledge in additive manufacturing of hydrogels by varying feedstock ratios and crosslinking chemistries. This partnership will establish a network of HBCU researchers with macromolecular chemistry expertise, developing cross-disciplinary chemistry courses using MONET resources and hosting K-12 science outreach activities for the broader metro Atlanta community. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.