Lab overview

We seek to answer scientific questions that live at the intersection of physical chemistry, materials science, surface science, and biomedical engineering through using a research approach that combines aspects of all disciplines.
We focus on an array of polymers, including naturally-derived polymer materials like silk and collagen. While polymers have great mechanical properties, their surface properties can limit their application in biomedical and environmental contexts. In other words, the inherent chemistry of the polymer surface does not provide a way for us program how they interface with their intended environment. Our work aims to modify the surface chemistry of naturally-derived polymer materials to program how they interact in a specific environment.
We use plasma processing to tune polymer surface properties. Plasma, the fourth state of matter, is a partially-ionized gaseous mixture that is useful for customizing the surface chemistry of solid materials. Plasma processing is used to manufacture multiple commercial products, including silicon chip fabrication.

We tune the plasma parameters, including precursor gas, applied power, pressure, and time the material is exposed to the plasma to control how polymer surfaces are modified.

We perform extensive characterization of materials before and after plasma modification, including using instruments housed in our lab in the Fresno State Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, as well as state-of-the-art equipment at UC Merced's Imaging and Microscopy Facility.

Current projects
Picture
An example of a working inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) reactor. The reactor is made out of quartz, and opens in the middle to insert solid materials for modification.
​Click on the following questions to find out more about what we are currently working on:

Previous projects