Controlled Fabrication of Opal Structured Janus Hydrogel Microparticles via Sequential Micromolding
Tice, Lauren.
2017
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Abstract: Hydrogel
microparticles containing synthetic opal structures via closely packed nanoparticles
hold significant potential for reagentless detection in biosensing, medical diagnostics,
and environmental monitoring. Yet there exist technical hurdles in reliable, simple, and
readily tunable fabrication of such microparticles. This thesis examines critical
parameters in the robust fabric... read moreation and characterization of opal structured hydrogel
microparticles via a two-step micromolding technique. Parameters examined include
evaporation rate, surfactant addition, polystyrene bead size, and various polymer
systems toward uniform and intense color. I demonstrated these microparticles display
uniform and intense color when fabricated with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate.
Scanning electron micrographs and Bragg Equation analysis show the opal layer packing
influences microparticle color, indicating uniform color arises from minimizing simple
cubic packing. The studies represent significant progress towards consistent and robust
fabrication of these microparticles which have considerable potential in biosensing
applications without using optical reagents or separate tags for inexpensive detection
of multiple variables.
Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2017.
Submitted to the Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering.
Advisor: Hyunmin Yi.
Committee: Qiaobing Xu, and Ayse Asatekin.
Keyword: Chemical engineering.read less - ID:
- kk91fz34p
- Component ID:
- tufts:22457
- To Cite:
- DCA Citation Guide EndNote
