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Brandon M Vogel

Publications and source records attributed to Brandon M Vogel.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Measuring molecular order in poly(3-alkylthiophene) thin films with polarizing spectroscopies.

We measured the molecular order of poly(3-alkylthiophene) chains in thin films before and after melting through the combination of several polarized photon spectroscopies: infrared (IR) absorption, variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS). The data from the various techniques can be uniformly treated in the context of the dielectric constant tensor epsilon for the film. The combined spectroscopies allow determination of the orientation distribution of the main-chain axis (SE and IR), the conjugated pi system normal (NEXAFS), and the side-chain axis (IR). We find significant improvement in the backbone order of the films after recrystallization of the material at temperatures just below the melting temperature. Less aggressive thermal treatments are less effective. IR studies show that the changes in backbone structure occur without significant alteration of the structure of the alkyl side chains. The data indicate that the side chains exhibit significant disorder for all films regardless of the thermal history of the sample.

Algorithms↗

Synthesis and characterization of novel polyanhydrides with tailored erosion mechanisms.

We have designed a new synthesis route to create polyanhydrides based on monomers that contain hydrophilic entities within highly hydrophobic backbones. The method results in polyanhydrides that can be easily processed into drug-containing tablets. The synthesis, characterization, and erosion studies of polyanhydride copolymers based on 1,6-bis(p-carboxyphenoxy)hexane (CPH), which is highly hydrophobic, and 1,8-bis(p-carboxyphenoxy)-3,6-dioxaoctane (CPTEG), which has hydrophilic oligomeric ethylene glycol segments in the monomer unit, was performed using a combination of molecular spectroscopy, thermal analysis, gravimetry, and scanning electron microscopy. The studies demonstrate that by increasing the CPH content in the CPTEG:CPH copolymers, the erosion of the system can be tailored from bulk-eroding to surface-eroding mechanism. These systems have promise as protein carriers.

Biocompatible Materials↗

Synthesis of novel biodegradable polyanhydrides containing aromatic and glycol functionality for tailoring of hydrophilicity in controlled drug delivery devices.

Aromatic diacids were synthesized from chlorinated triethylene or pentaethylene glycols and p-hydroxy benzoic acid. The diacids were acetylated with acetic anhydride to produce homopolymers of polyanhydrides for controlled release applications such as the stabilization of proteins and drugs. Adding ethylene glycol segments into the acid monomer allows tailoring of the hydrophobicity of the polyanhydrides, which in turn dictates the solubility of molecules within the polymer matrix and degradation rate of the polymer. The glycol containing polyanhydrides were characterized by NMR, GPC, DSC and dissolution testing. The release characteristics and mechanism of the new polyanhydrides were evaluated using hydrophilic and hydrophobic dyes.

Absorbable Implants↗

Synthesis and characterization of PEG dimethacrylates and their hydrogels.

Facile synthesis and detailed characterization of photopolymerizable and biocompatible poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylates (PEGDM) and poly(ethylene glycol) urethane-dimethacrylates (PEGUDM) are described. Poly(ethylene glycol)s of various molecular masses (M(n) = 1000 to 8000 g/mol) were reacted with methacrylic anhydride or with 2-isocyanatoethyl methacrylate to form PEGDMs and PEGUDMs, respectively. PEGDMs were also prepared by a microwave-assisted route to achieve fast reaction conversions under solvent free conditions. Combined analyses of (1)H NMR and MALDI-TOF MS confirmed the formation of prepolymers of high purity and narrow mass distribution (PD < 1.02). Aqueous solutions of the PEGDMs and PEGUDMs (10% and 20% by mass fraction) were photopolymerized to yield hydrogels. Bovine chondrocytes, seeded in the hydrogels, were used to assess the biocompatibility. Preliminary rheology and uniaxial compression measurements showed varied mechanical response, and biocompatibility studies showed that cells are completely viable in both types of hydrogels after two weeks.

Animals↗

Parallel synthesis and high throughput dissolution testing of biodegradable polyanhydride copolymers.

We have demonstrated that polycondensation reactions can be carried out in a combinatorial fashion and that the polymer library can be screened at high throughput using a rapid prototyping technique to fabricate multiwell substrates. A linearly varying compositional library of 100 different biodegradable polyanhydride random copolymers that are promising carriers for controlled drug delivery was designed, fabricated, and characterized by IR microscopy within a few hours. The polyanhydride copolymer library was based on 1,6-bis(p-carboxyphenoxy)hexane (CPH) and sebacic anhydride (SA) and was characterized with infrared microspectroscopy to determine the composition within each well. Since degradation and release rates depend on copolymer composition, we also developed new high-throughput methods to investigate drug release from this library of copolymers by designing specific wells for each task. A subset of this library was chosen, and a substrate was designed and fabricated to enable the synthesis and monitoring of dye dissolution from a range of polyanhydride copolymers in a parallel fashion using a CCD camera. Multisample substrates were fabricated with a novel rapid prototyping method that consists of an organic solvent-resistant array of 10 x 10 microwells of 2-muL volume each. The libraries were deposited with a custom-built liquid dispensing system consisting of a series of computer-controlled volume-dispensing pumps and XYZ motion stages. The parallel dye dissolution study displayed a decreasing rate of release with increasing CPH content. This result agrees with previously published data for dye release from poly(CPH-co-SA) copolymers. The methodology described in this work is amenable to numerous applications in the arenas of high-throughput polymer synthesis and characterization.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗