Date of Award

5-11-2025

Date Published

June 2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering

Advisor(s)

James Henderson

Keywords

3D Printing;4D Printing;Cell Mechanobiology;Wrinkling Topographies

Abstract

Mechanical instability-driven wrinkling atop shape memory polymer (SMP) substrates is a cost-effective surface patterning alternative to soft lithography that offers spatiotemporal control of surface topography for applications in thin film metrology, biomimicry, microfluidics, and cell studies. The wrinkle morphologies demonstrated to date have been predominantly simple aligned wrinkles on the surface of 2D geometries, so there remains a need for a straightforward SMP strain programming strategy that can achieve simple and complex wrinkle morphologies on 2D and 3D geometries. To address this need, we integrated a single-step SMP fabrication approach, programming via printing (PvP), with mechanical-instability-driven wrinkling to fabricate 2D and 3D substrates and achieve robust spatial control of wrinkle topography and morphology. This strategy achieved cytocompatible and tunable wrinkles on 2D and 3D geometries as well as simple aligned and complex (crumpled) wrinkle morphologies. By forming wrinkles on PvP substrates, cost-effective and straightforward fabrication of wrinkles was achieved, providing a method for cheap and easy modification of surface properties like surface roughness, friction, wetting, and optics with potential application in diverse fields.

Access

Open Access

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