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@PHDTHESIS{Steinbeck:1009669,
      author       = {Steinbeck, Lea Maria},
      othercontributors = {Wessling, Matthias and De Laporte, Laura},
      title        = {{T}ailoring the characteristics of complex-shaped
                      microgels},
      volume       = {50},
      school       = {Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen},
      type         = {Dissertation},
      address      = {Aachen},
      publisher    = {RWTH Aachen University},
      reportid     = {RWTH-2025-03604},
      series       = {Aachener Verfahrenstechnik series - AVT.CVT - Chemical
                      process engineering},
      pages        = {1 Online-Ressource : Illustrationen},
      year         = {2025},
      note         = {Veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen
                      University; Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische
                      Hochschule Aachen, 2025},
      abstract     = {Microgels are micrometer-sized polymer networks swollen in
                      water or a similar solvent. They are used in various areas,
                      such as water treatment, soft robotics, and tissue
                      engineering. In order to fully exploit the potential of
                      microgels, their properties need to be precisely adjusted in
                      line with their application. In this regard, non-spherical
                      microgels attract increasing interest as they extend the
                      microgels’ properties through their anisometry. However,
                      fabricating complex-shaped anisometric microgels is still
                      more challenging than producing spherical ones and,
                      therefore, much rarer. This thesis examines the fabrication
                      of such complex-shaped microgels and the customization of
                      selected microgel characteristics. The aim is to establish a
                      fabrication platform with a repertoire of tailorable
                      microgel characteristics that enables the combination and
                      reliable regulation of the properties of a microgel.
                      Stop-flow lithography (SFL) served as a fabrication method
                      for complex-shaped microgels. This fabrication was modified
                      in this thesis to tailor the characteristics of the
                      microgels. The porous structure of the microgels was altered
                      by using a cononsolvent in the reaction solution, which
                      changed the polymer interactions during polymerization. This
                      altered microgel structure influenced the thermal response
                      of the poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgels.
                      These showed a significantly higher collapsing degree,
                      modified collapsing and swelling kinetics, and inhomogeneous
                      patterns during the swelling process. Adding ellipsoidal
                      magnetic nanoparticles to the reaction solution resulted in
                      magnetic microgels. By aligning the nanoparticles prior to
                      polymerization, the microgels possessed a pre-defined
                      magnetic moment, determining their alignment direction in a
                      magnetic field. This alignment allowed the microgels to
                      rotate in solution or rotate fixed in a microfluidic
                      channel, actively mixing the surrounding solution. The
                      limits of microgel fabrication via radical projection
                      lithography have been exploited to create so-called patches
                      with a novel technique. The patches are millimeter-sized
                      hydrogels with highly crosslinked features connected to each
                      other by a weaker crosslinked and flatter polymer network.
                      The exact geometry, porosity, mechanical stability, and
                      other properties of these patches can be adjusted.This work
                      shows how porosity, thermal response, magnetic actuation,
                      and architecture of complex-shaped microgels can be
                      precisely tuned via SFL fabrication. Thus, microgel
                      characteristics can be extended and better tailored, which
                      enables customization for future applications of microgels,
                      such as scaffolds for tissue engineering, which are one of
                      their most promising applications.},
      cin          = {416110},
      ddc          = {620},
      cid          = {$I:(DE-82)416110_20140620$},
      pnm          = {SFB 985 B05 - Anisometrische Mikrogele für die
                      Konstruktion 3D-responsiver makroporöser Strukturen zur
                      Ausrichtung und mechanischen Stimulation von Zellen (B05)
                      (221474668) / SFB 985: Funktionelle Mikrogele und
                      Mikrogelsysteme},
      pid          = {G:(GEPRIS)221474668 / G:(GEPRIS)191948804},
      typ          = {PUB:(DE-HGF)11 / PUB:(DE-HGF)3},
      doi          = {10.18154/RWTH-2025-03604},
      url          = {https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/1009669},
}