|  Polymer Applications Focus:
Our Users Recent Publications
and A Short Course |
Polymers are the building blocks for many widely used consumer goods, from grocery bags to automotive components, and from sneakers to appliance parts. Polymers also play an important role in device fabrication by providing a cheap and chemically customizable material for a host of applications including biomedical and electronic devices.
Developing the correct mechanical, structural, and electrical properties for polymer-based materials used in advanced applications and technologies requires sophisticated engineering and synthesis. Because Atomic Force Microscopy is uniquely positioned to investigate a variety of properties on the nanoscale, it has become the technique of choice within the polymer community to characterize this important class of materials.
We are pleased to provide a short-course focusing on the use of AFM to characterize polymers. This course will be taking place May 10-11, 2016 in the Greater Boston area, see more information, below.
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AFMWorkshop's TT-AFM provides all the major Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) modes needed to characterize polymers, including vibrating mode for topography/morphology and force distance curves for mechanical properties such as adhesion and stiffness. A number of researchers have published their work on polymers using the TT-AFM, characterizing important properties such as size, shape, and dispersion. Below we highlight a few recent articles where researchers are utilizing the TT-AFM for work on polymers in biomedical and electronic device applications.
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P3HT, 20µm x 20µm; 10 µm x 10 µm; 5 µm x 5 µm. Figures reproduced with authors' permission.
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Cross-linked styrene polymers, 10 µm x 10 µm. Figures reproduced with authors' permission.
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Left: 15 x 15µm; Right: 1 µm x 1 µm
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Left: 5 µm x 5µm, Right, 2 µm x 2 µm
Characterizing the morphology of films and self-organization ability in four biocompatible polymers. Figures reproduced with authors' permission.
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- Nanoscale characterization of polymer nanoparticles for biomedical applications
The authors synthesized polymer nanoparticles from polyethylene glycol (PEG), a biocompatible polymer. They modified these nanoparticles to facilitate binding to the desired cell and to include a drug incorporation site. Using a TT-AFM operating in vibrating mode under ambient conditions, the authors successfully characterized both the shape and size of their polymer nanoparticles synthesized from polymers of different molecular weight. Read More
Reference: Crucho, C. I. and M. T. Barros (2014). "Surfactant-free polymeric nanoparticles composed of PEG, cholic acid and a sucrose moiety." Journal of Materials Chemistry B 2(25): 3946-3955.
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phase image, polyethylene glycol
7 µm x 7 µm. Figures reproduced with authors' permission.
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| Polymer Applications-Oriented Workshop |
May 10 - 11, 2016
AFM For Characterization of Polymer Materials
Boston, Massachusetts
are pleased to partner again this year in a polymer applications-oriented atomic force microscopy course just outside of Boston, Massachusetts in May, 2016.
The two day course mixes lecture with labwork on the basics of atomic force microscopy and its specific application to imaging polymer materials. AFM hardware and software will be reviewed, with special emphasis on the imaging modes and image processing needed to study polymer materials. Attendees with any make or model of AFM are welcome.
The course is led by Dalia Yablon, Ph.D.,
a physical chemist with 15 years of experience in the field of scanning probe microscopy (SPM). Dalia's 2013 book
Scanning Probe Microscopy in Industrial Applications: Nanomechanical Characterization
was published by Wiley. Dr. Yablon spent over a decade leading a state of the art scanning probe microscopy/nanomechanical characterization facility at ExxonMobil Corporation's flagship R&D center. In 2013, Dalia founded SurfaceChar, a scientific consulting company in the greater Boston area specializing in surface and interface characterization and measurement with a focus on scanning probe microscopy/atomic force microscopy.
REGISTER by April 1 for an early bird discount !
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A still shot from animated series #2 on Vibrating Mode for AFMs
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A very popular step-by-step animation series, currently includes :
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from Oxford University Press, by Peter Eaton and Paul West. Order yours today from Amazon.com.
"...a great introduction to AFMs for beginners and also serves as a good starting point for more serious users."
Udo D. Schwarz,
Yale University
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