Project Description:
Nanoporous membrane materials are one of the key components in many biomedical applications including bioseparation, controlled release, tissue engineering and biosensing. The goal of the current research program is to develop a new fabrication process for thin-film, polymer nanoporous membranes that can be utilized for bio-nano-particle enrichment. Not only will the membranes have superior physical properties, including uniform and controllable pore sizes, high porosity, ordered pore arrangement, flexibility and mechanical strength, they are also expected to possess versatile chemistry for biomolecular immobilization and resistance to fouling. Specifically, the membrane will be fabricated by templating colloidal crystal substrates. Such substrates are created through convective deposition of uniform-size silica nano- or micro-beads to form highly ordered crystalline monolayers. The membrane will then be packaged in microfluidic chips and explored for nanoparticle purification and concentration, which in the long term, will lead to the PIs’ research interest in creating a whole particle viral detector.