Publications and Research
Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
12-4-2019
Abstract
Biopolymers are being developed with embedded nanostructures for in vivo drug delivery to treat various diseases including cancers. In the current project we developed fabrication steps to prepare two biopolymers, poly di-methoxy siloxane (PDMS) with 0-0.9 vol% of SiC nano whisker (fillers) followed by non- destructive characterization. Optical reflection microscopy (5-100X) was performed to ensure loading and distribution of increasing SiC content. Optical microscopy showed progressively higher SiC distribution as filler loading was increased from 0-0.9 vol%. X-ray imaging at low kV (kilovoltage) and low mAs (milliamperage per second) were optimized to allow distinction between filled PDMS with SiC concentration that differed as low as by 0.2%. In addition, MRI characterizations are under investigation to obtain basic inter-molecular relaxation information with and without nano-fillers. Preliminary results suggest SiC attached at the PDMS backbone even at 0.2 vol% explaining observed enhanced mechanical properties with filer loading.
Comments
This poster was presented at the 31st Semi-Annual Honors and Undergraduate Research Scholars Poster Presentation at New York City College of Technology, Dec. 4, 2019. Mentors: Professors Zoya Vinokur and Subhendra Sarkar (Radiologic Technology & Medical Imaging) and Chen Xu (Computer Engineering Technology).