{"392661":{"#nid":"392661","#data":{"type":"event","title":"Microgels as Chemical Sensors and Drug Delivery Vehicles","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch6\u003ESchool of Physics Soft Condensed Matter \u0026amp; Biophysics Seminar: Prof. Alan Denton, North Dakota State University \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/h6\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMicrogels are microscopic gel particles that are swollen by a solvent. \u0026nbsp;Composed of porous, elastic networks of cross-linked polymers, microgels are soft colloids that can encapsulate dye molecules or drugs. \u0026nbsp;Their sensitive response to environmental conditions (e.g., temperature and pH) and influence on flow properties suit microgels to widespread applications in the chemical, pharmaceutical, food, and consumer care industries. \u0026nbsp;When dispersed in water, polyelectrolyte gels can become charged through dissociation of counterions. \u0026nbsp;Permeability and a tunable interplay between electrostatic and elastic forces give ionic microgels unique materials properties. \u0026nbsp;Within a coarse-grained model, we combine Poisson-Boltzmann theory of polyelectrolytes, Flory theory of network swelling, and molecular simulation to compute the osmotic pressure inside a single microgel particle and within bulk dispersions. \u0026nbsp;Predictions for particle swelling and bulk phase behavior can be tested against experiments, with potential relevance for chemical sensing and drug delivery.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Microgels as Chemical Sensors and Drug Delivery Vehicles"}],"uid":"27664","created_gmt":"2015-04-01 10:37:34","changed_gmt":"2017-04-13 21:19:35","author":"Alison Morain","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2015-04-14T16:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2015-04-14T17:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2015-04-14T17:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2015-04-14 20:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2015-04-14 21:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2015-04-14 21:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"123091","name":"Microgels as Chemical Sensors and Drug Delivery Vehicles"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"},{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:alison.morain@physics.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ealison.morain@physics.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}