Changing Surfaces from
Sticky to Slippery Using Light - New Technology
June19th 2006
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Georges Belfort |
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Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a
surface that can be switched from sticky to slippery when exposed to
light. The scientists call these surfaces “optically switchable”. The
material’s surface characteristics are altered when exposed to
ultra-violet light.
Scientists are using synthetic polymer membrane in a variety of
applications. They call this new science “bioseparation”.
Bioseparation is a filtering process of specific proteins from complex
liquid mixtures of biological molecules. The proteins usually stick to
the membranes, clogging up their pores and severely limiting their
performance.
Georges Belfort, the Russell Sage Professor of Chemical Engineering at
Rensselaer and corresponding author of the paper, says “We asked
ourselves, can one use light to help the proteins hop on and hop off? We
have shown that when one changes light, the proteins don’t stick as
well.”
The research, which appears in the June 19 issue of the journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, could have a wide variety of
applications. Some of the applications being considered right now are a
protein filter for biological mixtures to a tiny valve on a
“lab-on-a-chip.”
Belfort makes the materials by attaching spiropyran molecules to an
industrial polymer, poly (ether sulfone). Spiropyrans are a group of
light-switchable organic molecules that exist in a colorless, “closed”
form under visible light, but switch to a reddish-purple, “open” form
when exposed to UV light. This change leads to an alteration of the new
material’s polarity, or the chemical structure of its atoms.
The process is not considered complicated. Belfort says “We used a
relatively simple two-step process that could be easily incorporated
into a commercial manufacturing process. The relative ease of this
grafting and switching process suggests many industrial opportunities.”
Dan Wilson
Best Syndication
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