POLYMER BRUSHES AND MOLECULAR ASSEMBLIES

Coordinator: Dr. Omar Azzaroni

The project encompasses:
Polymer Brushes: These particular macromolecular architectures are polymer chains tethered at one end to a solid substrate forming a brush–like layer of elongated coils. When dealing with polyelectrolyte brushes the conformation of the brush–like layer is dominated by electrostatic interactions between segments of like charges. Changes in ionic strength, pH and solvent properties lead to markedly different surface properties due to transitions in the polymer brush between stretched and collapsed states.
In this project, our research interests extend from fundamental science to technological applications. We use soft building blocks to engineer multifunctional surfaces with tailored chemical and physical properties.
Biorecognition-Directed Molecular Assembly: Our research interests are focused on finding routes based on biomolecular recognition to specifically incorporate functional building blocks onto surfaces.
Macromolecular Assemblies in Nanoconfined Geometries: The rational design of robust platforms enabling the selective transport of ionic species has received considerable attention during the last decade. The generation of interfaces discriminating the transport of cationic and anionic species, i.e.: permselectivity, is an intrinsic mechanism of nature, as can be seen in cornea or human skin which exploit fixed charges in the membrane to generate differential permeabilities.We are interested in finding different routes to manipulate and control the transport of different chemical species by assembling “smart” or “intelligent” active structures, with agile response to minute environmental changes, into nanoconfined environments. Within this framework we use nanostructured scaffolds for creating robust and shape-persistent nanoscopic channels. Our experimental results indicate that the incorporation of adaptive and responsive soft materials into robust nanochannels provides new opportunities to molecularly design hybrid assemblies with controllable transport properties.