Choline-chloride based deep eutectic solvents (DES) have been used for several different applications (e.g., solubility, electrochemistry, and purifications) due to their relative inexpensive and readily available nature. In this work, three choline chloride-based DESs are simulated using molecular dynamics to study the hydrogen bonding interactions of the system. Three hydrogen bond donors (HBD) are studied in order to determine the changes in the hydrogen bonding interactions when the HBD is different in the DES. One dicarboxylic acid and two polyols (with different number of OH groups) were chosen as the HBDs of interest. First, the simulations are validated by comparing simulated and experimental thermodynamic and transport properties, when possible. Then, for maline (choline chloride/malonic acid), the more anomalous system studied here, molecular simulations complement results obtained from an FTIR spectroscopic study in order to further understand this unique system. Good agreement with experimental values was obtained for simulated density, heat capacity, and transport properties. A high relative percent of hydrogen bonding is observed for interactions between the anion and the HBD for the three main systems studied here, consistent with the nature of how these moieties interact in DESs. Comparison is also done with a previous DES studied in our group. From the infrared spectroscopic study conducted on maline films, band assignments were discussed highlighting a “free” carbonyl group of the carboxylic acid group in the eutectic mixture when the OH group is hydrogen bonded to something else. Additionally, a band is assigned to a hydrogen bonded carbonyl group. These band assignments are consistent with findings in the molecular simulations and highlight the predominant interactions of the system.

Deep eutectic solvents, considered ionic liquid (IL) analogues, show promise for many material science and engineering applications over typical ILs because they are readily available and relatively inexpensive. Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations have been performed over a range of temperatures on one eutectic mixture, 1:2 choline chloride/urea, using different force field modifications. Good agreement was achieved between simulated density, volume expansion coefficient, heat capacity, and diffusion coefficients and experimental values in order to validate the best performing force field. Atom-atom and center-of-mass radial distribution functions are discussed in order to understand the atomistic interactions involved in this eutectic mixture. Experimental infrared (IR) spectra are also reported for choline chloride-urea mixtures, and band assignments are discussed. The distribution of hydrogen-bond interactions from molecular simulations is correlated to curve-resolved bands from the IR spectra. This work suggests that there is a strong interaction between the NH2 of urea and the chlorine anion where the system wants to maximize the number of hydrogen bonds to the anion. Additionally, the disappearance of free carbonyl groups upon increasing concentrations of urea suggests that at low urea concentrations, urea will preferentially interact with the anion through the NH2 groups. As this concentration increases, the complex remains but with additional interactions that remove the free carbonyl band from the spectra. The results from both molecular simulations and experimental IR spectroscopy support the idea that key interactions between the moieties in the eutectic mixture interrupt the main interactions within the parent substances and are responsible for the decrease in freezing point.

Ideal biomaterials for bone grafts must be biocompatible, osteoconductive, osteoinductive and have appropriate mechanical properties. For this, the development of synthetic bone substitutes mimicking natural bone is desirable, but this requires controllable mineralization of the collagen matrix. In this study, densified collagen films (up to 100 μm thick) were fabricated by a plastic compression technique and cross-linked using carbodiimide. Then, collagen-hydroxyapatite composites were prepared by using a polymer-induced liquid-precursor (PILP) mineralization process. Compared to traditional methods that produce only extrafibrillar hydroxyapatite (HA) clusters on the surface of collagen scaffolds, by using the PILP mineralization process, homogeneous intra- and extrafibrillar minerals were achieved on densified collagen films, leading to a similar nanostructure as bone, and a woven microstructure analogous to woven bone. The role of collagen cross-links on mineralization was examined and it was found that the cross-linked collagen films stimulated the mineralization reaction, which in turn enhanced the mechanical properties (hardness and modulus). The highest value of hardness and elastic modulus was 0.7 ± 0.1 and 9.1 ± 1.4 GPa in the dry state, respectively, which is comparable to that of woven bone. In the wet state, the values were much lower (177 ± 31 and 8 ± 3 MPa) due to inherent microporosity in the films, but still comparable to those of woven bone in the same conditions. Mineralization of collagen films with controllable mineral content and good mechanical properties provide a biomimetic route toward the development of bone substitutes for the next generation of biomaterials. This work also provides insight into understanding the role of collagen fibrils on mineralization.

A microfluidic manifold has been designed, fabricated, and tested that hydrodynamically focuses a sample into the center of a microchannel and provides control over the vertical position of the sample via the flowrates of the focusing fluids. To characterize the focusing action, a mixing experiment was performed in which the sample fluid and focusing fluid contained different fluorescent dyes. By sweeping the ratio of the rate of the top focusing fluid to the rate of the bottom focusing fluid, the sample was positioned first near the top of the microchannel and then translated downward in steps to the bottom of the microchannel. Images were obtained with confocal microscopy, and the presumptive concentration distributions were computed using multiphysics software. The simulations were shown by direct visual comparison with the experimental images to accurately predict the distributions of fluids in our device. In order to quantitatively compare the two data sets, the images and simulations were analyzed using a simple center-of-mass measurement, and according to this measurement, the simulations accurately predicted the vertical position the focused sample.