Fabrication of polymer nanocomposites for application in luminescent solar concentrators

The integration of luminescent nanoparticles into transparent polymer matrices opens the way to affordable, scalable and efficient luminescent solar concentrators. A key challenge in the fabrication is to prevent agglomeration of the nanoparticles as this will drastically reduce the performance due to scattering effects. The incompatibility of...

Wettability-controlled permeability of porous PDMS membranes for drug delivery in the brain

Administration of drugs can help in the recovery of the brain for example after a stroke. There are many available delivery routes such as intravenous injection or local injection in the brain. Whereas, the former encounters problems with systemic side effects, the latter requires multiple invasive brain surgery. Local drug administration could...

Developing a microfluidic device incorporating submicron topographies for studying bone regeneration

A major challenge facing the study of bone regeneration today is the inability to mimic the tissue microenvironment and the factors comprising it. Organ-on-chip based microfluidic systems today aim at doing so by dynamically culturing living cells in them. These are preferred owing to their small feature sizes, laminar flows, high throughput,...

Effect of Flow Conditions on Nanoparticle Aerosol Deposition for Direct Writing Purposes

Nanoparticles have unique properties that are sought after for the development and improvement of applications. Prerequisite to achieve these applications, methods are required to put the nanoparticles in different patterns and arrangement on a target substrate.<br/>In the course of developing an aerosol-based nanoparticle printing system, this...

Photo-patterned, pH-responsive hydrogel membranes for integrated fluid control

To control fluid transport, microfluidic systems often make use of pressure driven flow and pneumatically actuated valves. However these require bulky external instrumentation. An integrated fluid control mechanism would make microfluidic systems more portable, closed and automated. The aim of this project was to create a pH-responsive membrane...

Membrane fouling: Study on fouling inside an Organ on a Chip

Organ on a Chip (OoC) systems are of high interest through its use for medicine testing in a small time scale without the need for animal testing. Membranes used in OoCs form a base to grow cells on and need to be suitable for cell-attachment and porous. Fouling is the 'Achilles heel' in membrane performance. Research shows that as a result of...

Manufacturing of a polymeric membrane with integrated porous electrode

A manufacturing technology is proposed to manufacture polymeric membrane scaffolds for culturing of cells, tissues, and organoids with integrated sensor capabilities and fluidic functionalities. A multilayer substrate is imprinted with a soft mold to manufacture polymeric membrane scaffolds for culturing of cells, tissues, and organoids with...

Rinsing of complex conduit geometries in implanted insulin infusion devices: Effectiveness of removing insulin precipitates from conduits

Implanted intra-peritoneal insulin infusion (‘i4’) devices administer insulin into the peritoneum of diabetic patients with extreme blood glucose swings, that are highly difficult to control. The flushing procedures of i4 devices to clear obstructions from its conduits caused by insulin degradation are not always fully effective. The goal of...

Surface Self-Assembled Colloidal Crystals: for the use in Pattern Replication by Hot Embossing

The structuring of polymers on the micro and nanoscale is performed largely by lithographic techniques, which require complex steps and suffer from geometrical and scaling limits. Techniques such as Nanoimprint Lithography and Hot Embossing are attractive alternatives as they can produce high quality nanoscale structures with a high throughput....

Micromanufacturing of Conductive Polymer Electrodes for Sensing Microsystems

Wearable technologies are receiving a growing attention from research and industry in many different scientific areas [1]. Many of the commercialized devices are mainly based on the detection of gravitational, electric or acoustic impulse and environmental sensors [2]. However, for various healthcare applications it is of vital importance to be...

Development of a stretchable graphene electrode for an electrochemical cell

Strain engineering has been shown to alter the electronic properties of graphene, thereby changing its chemical reactivity. If this change in reactivity can be used to improve the adsorption of species on its surface, the exceptional properties of graphene can improve current sensing capabilities. The graphene surface could be functionalised...

Conducting polymer nanostructures for implantable biosensing applications

Conductive polymers such as polyaniline, polypyrrole and PEDOT (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)) have been used extensively to enhance the sensitivity, versatility and biocompatibility of electrochemical- and biosensors. Both their electrochemical stability and their mechanical properties make them highly suitable for applications that require...