Ms. Sharon Suharenko - M.Sc. Candidate
03/05/2026
David Wang Auditorium, 3rd Floor, Dalia Maydan Bldg.
13:30
Granular hydrogels assembled from jammed hydrogel microparticles provide a versatile platform for engineering soft materials with tunable porosity, mechanical properties, and dynamic responsiveness. They are widely used as scaffolds for cell growth, where void structure influences cell behavior. Unlike bulk hydrogels, these systems can reconfigure through particle-level rearrangements. However, the relationship between microgel design, stimulus-induced network rearrangement, and macroscopic behavior remains poorly understood.
In this work, monodisperse microgels were fabricated using a microfluidic approach, enabling precise control over size and composition. These microgels were assembled into composite microporous annealed particle (MAP) hydrogels composed of bovine serum albumin–poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (BSA–PEGDA) and thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgels. By varying their ratio, we created a granular system in which temperature-induced PNIPAM contraction drives localized stress generation and rearrangement.
Mechanical characterization revealed a strong dependence of macroscopic response on microgel composition. Confocal imaging showed stimulus-induced changes in packing and void structure. PNIPAM contraction and expansion drive particle rearrangement and void redistribution. These structural changes generate heterogeneous microenvironments that influence cell organization, with cells preferentially localizing in regions undergoing network reconfiguration. Overall, this work demonstrates how microgel composition can be used to control granular protein-based hydrogels and enable localized actuation, providing a foundation for designing adaptive biomaterials with spatially controlled mechanical and structural cues for guiding cell behavior.