Prepare patchy microspheres

About

Background: Microspheres with regular and ordered surface patterns (patches) have tremendous potential for usage in sensor ,biomedical and photonic applications. However a method for the easy patterning of the microsphere surface, post pattern functionalization and the easy recovery of the microspheres is not currently available. Technology: Investigators have developed a robust and feasible procedure to develop regular and ordered patches onto microspheres. The patterns formed on these microspheres are a heterogeneous phase of condensed molecules. These patches can be either used as a mask or site for further functionalization. These techniques can be explored for various kinds of microspheres (polymer, mineral and metallic), and patches (polymer, small molecules, metal and mineral) with different sizes (by changing the neighboring microspheres around a single particle), and number (by varying the crystalline packing).  Advantages: 1. Ensures heterogenecity in composition, concentration, number, size, distribution and order of the patches onto the microspheres. 2. Easy and fast post pattern functionalization of the patches. 3. Functionalized microspheres can be easily retrieved by this procedure. 4. Possibility of doing microfluidics during post pattern functionalization. 5. Easy scale up to commercial scale for the processing of the microspheres.  6. The ordering of the microsphere demonstrated can be done instead of 2D to 3D level in a capillary or conical system for easy scale up. 6. System works under conventional laboratory conditions and therefore does not need any sophisticated equipments for patterning. 7. System could be explored for patterning and functionalisation of any kind of solid microspheres. 8. Patches can be differentially labeled for different purposes, which can probe and act according to the local environment. 9. Also can be made dynamic into different dimensions which can mimic atomic interactions, potentially leading to new particle flow phenomenon.