Microgel particles are often used in drug delivery and cell scaffolding. A specific type of microgel particle poly <i>n</i>-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) microgel particles is unique because of its sensitivity to pH and temperature. The particles can swell and contract when exposed to environments with varying pH and temperatures. NIPAM microgels are made of water, polymer chains and a crosslinker, the crosslinker available within the microgels allows biomolecules to attach to its surface. For this project <i>n,n’</i>-methylenebis(acrylamide) [BIS] is used as the crosslinker. Two types of NIPAM microgel particles are synthesized to determine attachment yield; ones made without any added crosslinker (0% BIS) and ones made with the conventional amount of crosslinker (2% BIS). Without the BIS the polymer chains within the microgel go from being a dense network of chains to lose dangling chains. This project hypothesizes that the 0% BIS (Ultra Low Crosslinker (UCLs)) microgels will have a lower attachment yield than the 2% BIS because the loose chains allow for more slippage within the microgel and fewer areas of attachment. To quantify the amount of attachment the microgels are surface functionalized with alexa fluor 488 cadaverine, from here fluorescence microscopy and image analysis is used to measure attachment yield. Fluorescence microscopy on the microgel samples showed that the ULCs had a higher yield of cadaverine attachment compared to the conventional 2% BIS microgels, possibly because the ULCs lack a definitive surface compared to the 2%BIS.

Biomolecular attachment yield analysis on microgels via fluorescence microscopy

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