It was previously shown that surface modification of plastic substrates can lead to an increase in surface functionality. In this work, we have investigated the deposition of metal-nanoparticles onto surface functionalized poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) discs that can potentially be used in microwave-accelerated bioassays. The diameter of PMMA discs were adjusted to 5 cm, which is significantly smaller than the wavelength of microwaves at 2.45 GHz (12.2 cm) to avoid charge buildup and subsequent destruction of the PMMA discs. We have studied several techniques for the preparation of PMMA assay platforms and found that the polymerization of the monomer, methyl methacrylate, results in clear and optically transparent PMMA discs. The absorbance of the disc was obtained before surface modification and after coating of the silver nanostructures. An increase in absorption at 450 nm was due to the attachment of the metal-nanoparticles on the modified PMMA discs.

Preparation of plasmonic nanoparticle-coated PMMA assay platforms for microwave-accelerated bioassays

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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