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Nanoengineered materials are attracting a great deal of interest as the basis for therapeutic delivery systems, due to their potential to prolong circulation half-lives, circumvent solubility problems and reduce toxicity through efficient targeting. The versatility of polymers and polymer-based materials makes them logical candidates in this area, where the ability to tailor particular functionalities is key to producing materials which have a place in the clinic. Specifically, capsules assembled using the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique offer unique control over material composition, size, shape and functionality. Additionally cylindrical polymer brushes (CPBs) offer unique properties, being single molecules which can offer particle-like dimensions through highly tuneable chemistry. Understanding the behaviour of such systems in vivo is critical to progressing materials beyond the laboratory. Achieving significant blood residence time is important for the ultimate bioavailability of potential encapsulated therapeutics. This thesis looks at the in vivo behaviour of both LbL assembled polymer capsules and cylindrical polymer brushes. Specifically this work aims to (i) investigate the behaviour of click-LbL capsule systems in vivo; (ii) extend the understanding of LbL capsule protein fouling behaviour, relating in vitro to in vivo findings; (iii) investigate the behaviour of cylindrical polymer brush materials in vivo. This will be demonstrated through the assembly of a range of click-LbL capsule systems including poly(methacrylic acid) (PMA), poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVPON), and poly(2-diisopropylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDPA), followed by tritium labelling and analysis using a rat model to establish capsule pharmacokinetics and biodistribution. The understanding of LbL capsule behaviour in vivo is then extended by applying poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) functionalisation approaches to PVPON film and capsule modification. Capsules are functionalised using single PEG c

This thesis contributes to an emergent area on consumer value co-creation in a rapidly growing and exciting ‘new’ service market, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) health services. The market for CAM health services is experiencing strong growth as consumers look for greater value, choice and control in managing their health. Despite the growth in this large health service market there is a paucity of research from a service marketing and consumer behaviour perspective. Yet, understanding what CAM consumers’ value and how they co-create value with CAM health services has important managerial implications. The purpose of this research is to explore what value CAM consumers’ gain and how they co-create value from their consumption experiences with CAM health services. The research adopts an interpretive approach employing an exploratory case study research strategy, using qualitative methods and an adapted version of the visual elicitation technique ZMET. The research process is semi-longitudinal and is conducted in three phases over a 12 month period. Sixteen CAM consumers with ‘lifestyle’ health complaints who use CAM health services participated in the study. The findings reveal eight consumer value components including: quality of care, treatment efficiency, physical environment, esteem value, social value, spiritual value, ethics and play. A consumer value model for CAM health services and potentially all health care services is proposed. Significantly this research found that CAM consumers co-create value on three levels according to their: approach to health care, preferred ‘consumer value co-creation relationship styles’ and engagement in ‘consumer value co-creation activities’. Consequently this thesis presents a typology of consumer value co-creation in CAM health services and develops a consumer value co-creation framework that can potentially be used for all health services. This research contributes to service marketing and consumer behaviour t