Week 5: Experimental Procedure Finalization and Initial Experimentation (In Class Meeting)

Today we finalized the calculations for each 3D printed mold. Each shape will have a total volume of 250 mm³ to ensure that the results are consistent and can be compared across all different shapes. Using these calculations, we created the molds for each shape and started printing them on the 3D printer. We also received feedback from the professor, Dr. Hao Cheng, and changed our initial project proposal from attempting to prolong drug delivery to measuring the degradation of the hydrogel. To reflect this new research goal in our procedure, we added the process of dehydrating and rehydrating the hydrogels to test the rates of degradation. The video below shows the hydrating process from a dehydrated hydrogel.