Filtering, Spin Coating and Current Research

The day started with the filtering of the PS solution that we made yesterday. The reason for the filter is that the solution may contain impurities and they can easily be removed by filtration.
We used a syringe, without a needle, to take up the solution and then passed it through the filter. The filter is specially designed to fit the syringe and it goes into another vial to hold the solution. The filter is really small. Here you can see it compared to a dime.

We had each made two solutions and we filtered each one. We then closed them and used parafilm to keep everything in.
After filtering the solutions, we set up the instruments to do the spin coating of the solution onto a microscope glass slide.

During lunch, some post-docs talked about the current research they are doing here. The first one was about antimicrobial polymer films that would be very useful in hospitals to prevent infections, like MRSA. They would be great for contact lenses to help prevent infections to the eyes. The second one was about attaching virus nanoparticles to silica and gold substrates. This would be used to check how the particles are aligned on the substrate since it is easier to see this using the virus nanoparticles.