stephen g. boyes
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
BS - University of New South Wales, Australia
PhD - University of New South Wales, Australia
Postdoctoral Study - University of Akron
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION
The modification of surfaces with polymers represents a critical step in the development of a wide variety of next generation technologies including hybrid solar cells, anti-fouling membranes, nanomedicines, electronic devices and sensors. Progress in these technologies is critically dependent upon the ability to prepare and attach well defined, multi-functional polymers in a controlled manner. Our research group studies the use of living radical polymerization techniques to modify a wide variety of surfaces, both on the macro and nano scales, to produce multifunctional materials for a range of advanced applications.
Current research projects within our laboratory include: 1) Novel, Multifunctional Nanomedicines - nanomedicines show incredible potential in improving the early diagnosis and therapeutic outcome of cancer and other advanced diseases, such as tuberculosis, inflammation and HIV/AIDS, while increasing the quality of life of the patient. Our group focuses on the use of nanotechnology to prepare novel, multifunctional, and well defined nanomedicines, which offer revolutionary potential for the entire discipline of medicine, especially in diagnostics, drug delivery, and patient therapy; 2) Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Solar Cells - the integration of nanotechnology with developing renewable energy technologies is one avenue which will have a great impact on how quickly the use of renewable energy can expand. We focus on the synthesis of metallic and semiconducting nanoparticles to allow control over their shape, size, and surface properties and the development of methods for the assembly and ordering of these optimized nanoparticles for potential application in hybrid polymer-nanoparticle photovoltaic devices; and 3) Stimuli Responsive Polymer Brushes – the advent of living radical polymerization techniques allows for unprecedented control over the physical and chemical properties of polymer brushes. We have developed novel surface initiated living radical polymerization techniques for the preparation of stimuli responsive polymer brushes.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Maksaereekul, W., Sanchez, T.J., Rowe, M.D., Liberatore, M.W., Serkova, N.J., Boyes, S.G. Synthesis of Gadolinium Nanoscale Metal Organic Frameworks with Hydrotropes: Manipulation of Particle Size and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Capability ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2011, 3, 1502 – 1510.
Hotchkiss, J.W., Mohr, B.G.R., Boyes, S.G. Gold Nanorods Surface Modified with Poly(acrylic acid) as a Template for the Synthesis of Metallic Nanoparticles J. Nanopart. Res. 2010, 12, 915 – 930.
Boyes, S.G., Rowe, M.D., Chang, C.-C., Thamm, D.H., Kraft, S.L., Harmon, J.F., Serkova, N.J., Vogt, A.P., Sumerlin, B.S. Surface Modification of Positive Contrast Nanoparticle Agents with RAFT Polymers Towards the Targeted Imaging and Treatment of Cancer In Polymeric Delivery of Therapeutics; Morgan, S.E. and Lochhead, R.Y Eds.; ACS Symp. Series, Vol. 1053; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2010, 65 - 101.
Rowe, M.D., Chang, C.-C., Thamm, D.H., Kraft, S.L., Vogt, A.P., Sumerlin, B.S., Boyes, S.G. Tuning the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Properties of Positive Contrast Agent Nanoparticles by Surface Modification with RAFT Polymers Langmuir 2009, 25, 9487 – 9499.
Rowe, M.D., Thamm, D.H., Kraft, S.L.; Boyes, S.G. Polymer Modified Gadolinium Nanoparticles Used as Multifunctional Nanomedicines for the Targeted Imaging and Treatment of Cancer Biomacromolecules 2009, 10, 983 – 993.