Can polyacrylamide beads be surface functionalized?

Polyacrylamide beads can be readily surface functionalized and have been recently used in a wide range of microencapsulation applications including RNA capture, drug encapsulation, controlled release, and enzyme immobilization. Microfluidic technology for polyacrylamide synthesis has seen a significant growth in various fields.

What are polyacrylamide beads used for?

The growing need for specific polyacrylamide beads becomes more dominant with a wide range of applications available across various industries. For example, biologists and researchers use polyacrylamide soft deformable (soft) beads that are close packed to insert a controllable number of particles in every drop.

How can we produce polyacrylamide particles?

By precisely controlling the formation of the bead, we can produce polyacrylamide particles with well-defined sizes, shapes and morphologies. The schematics below showcases the flow focusing microfluidic method example from our application note.

How are polyacrylamide hydrogel beads produced?

Polyacrylamide hydrogel beads are produced by free radical copolymerization of acrylamide and bis-acrylamide initiated by ammonium persulfate. The persulfate free radicals convert acrylamide monomers to free radicals which react with inactivated monomers to begin the polymerization chain reaction.

Does a polyacrylamide bead size affect cell growth?

In a single word, yes! The porous polyacrylamide structure allows growth materials transferred and exchanged via the nanopores in the bead structure. Bead size can impact the speed of cell growth and the degradation speed at which drugs or agrochemicals are delivered and released, impacting the length of time needed between treatments.

What is a polyacrylamide hydrogel?

Polyacrylamide (PAM) is a type of hydrogel consisting of a loosely cross-linked acrylamide structure that can hold large amount of water.