BME Master's Defense Announcement for Jonathan Bryan (C. Lin, advisor) Everyone is invited to attend the public presentation beginning at 10:00 AM EST. Title: MICROWAVE-ASSISTED AQUEOUS SYNTHESIS OF NORBORNENE-FUNCTIONALIZED MACROMERS FOR HYDROGEL CROSSLINKNING Date: 07/15/2025 Time: 10:00 AM Location: SL220A (Indianapolis) and online via Zoom: Topic: Bryan, MS BME Oral Exam Time: Jul 15, 2025 10:00 AM Indiana (East) Join Zoom Meeting https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/91659115367?pwd=FULABzyag0SQ0EpFwA6ZmLkdZLHmmr.1<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpurdue-edu.zoom.us%2Fj%2F91659115367%3Fpwd%3DFULABzyag0SQ0EpFwA6ZmLkdZLHmmr.1&data=05%7C02%7Cbmeroundtable-list%40ecn.purdue.edu%7C96d81b4079b24bfc77c008ddb8121ae3%7C4130bd397c53419cb1e58758d6d63f21%7C0%7C0%7C638869110111944299%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=mX2pJxAyO%2BRCsYoSh0Q1E9HRdnCcQuRJR3xUmmj8ZuM%3D&reserved=0> Meeting ID: 916 5911 5367 Passcode: 594816 (more Zoom meeting information below) Committee: Dr. Chien-Chi Lin (Chair), Dr. Tayler Hebner, Dr. Sungsoo Na Abstract: Radical initiated thiol-norbornene (thiol-ene) click chemistry has been widely used in fabricating hydrogels for biomedical applications owing to its efficiency, modularity, and cytocompatibility. However, previously reported methods of norbornene conjugation to natural and synthetic polymers require long reaction times and usage of large quantity of organic solvents. Improving norbornene conjugation efficiency could allow greater adoption of this chemistry for hydrogel synthesis. To this end, microwave-assisted synthesis can accelerate reactions while maintaining consistency. The current microwave-assisted methods for synthesizing macromers for hydrogel crosslinking are limited and this work demonstrates the adaptation of norbornene conjugation methods to a microwave reactor for rapid synthesis of highly substituted macromers. Conjugation of norbornene to multi-arm poly(ethylene glycol)-amine using microwave methods reduced reaction time from 48 hours to 90 minutes while improving the conversion from 83.1% to 98.3%. Macromers with higher conversion produced hydrogels with increased elastic moduli (G'). On the other hand, microwave-assisted synthesis of gelatin norbornene (μwGelNB) provided a robust and efficient synthesis route, where norbornene substitution was controlled from ~60-90% by adjusting reaction time between 7.5 and 45 minutes. Longer microwave heating rendered the gelatin less viscous while increased functionalization, allowing hydrogel fabrication with higher G' than conventionally synthesized material. Additionally, μwGelNB was used to fabricate small positive and negative architectures using a digital light processing (DLP) bioprinter. Lastly, compared with conventional GelNB, μwGelNB hydrogels supported superior endothelial cell network formation. --- Zoom: One tap mobile +13052241968,,91659115367#,,,,*594816# US +13092053325,,91659115367#,,,,*594816# US --- Dial by your location * +1 305 224 1968 US * +1 309 205 3325 US * +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) * +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) * +1 646 931 3860 US * +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) * +1 507 473 4847 US * +1 564 217 2000 US * +1 669 444 9171 US * +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) * +1 689 278 1000 US * +1 719 359 4580 US * +1 253 205 0468 US * +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) * +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) * +1 360 209 5623 US * +1 386 347 5053 US Meeting ID: 916 5911 5367 Passcode: 594816 Find your local number: https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/u/adENJ9zMdG<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpurdue-edu.zoom.us%2Fu%2FadENJ9zMdG&data=05%7C02%7Cbmeroundtable-list%40ecn.purdue.edu%7C96d81b4079b24bfc77c008ddb8121ae3%7C4130bd397c53419cb1e58758d6d63f21%7C0%7C0%7C638869110111971972%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=he%2BoFGdDFaHVUN3kRgqsBl60xhUtFaLnW%2BUBMQ6IDF8%3D&reserved=0> --- Join by SIP * 91659115367@zoomcrc.com<mailto:91659115367@zoomcrc.com> --- Join by H.323 * 144.195.19.161 (US West) * 206.247.11.121 (US East) Meeting ID: 916 5911 5367 Passcode: 594816 -- Bmeroundtable-list mailing list Bmeroundtable-list@ecn.purdue.edu https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECN/mailman/listinfo/bmeroundtable-list