In recent years, systems that exploit molecular interactions to move molecules against conventional gradients have gained much interest. For example, it has been well established that surface gradients create a difference in attraction that will cause molecules to diffuse preferentially in one direction, even against concentration and gravity gradients. Initial publications from our lab show promising results for directed transport along a patterned 1D pathway, across a 2D surface, and concentration by a radial gradient. However, these functional surfaces are often made of a gel or glassy polymer brush that needs to be swollen or plasticized for effective diffusion. Herein, we present the design of several mobile polymer thin film systems by grafting and surface-initiated polymerization approaches and their subsequent post-modification. Molecular mobility was investigated using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and these systems are currently being applied to transport studies that use electrostatic interactions between polymer surfaces and fluorescent probes.

Polymer thin film surfaces for molecular transport and concentration

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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