Laser used to control size of polymer gel for sensors

Citation

(2003), "Laser used to control size of polymer gel for sensors", Sensor Review, Vol. 23 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2003.08723cab.005

Laser used to control size of polymer gel for sensors

Laser used to control size of polymer gel for sensors

Keywords: Lasers, Sensors

What is known as the Misawa Group, a University of Tokushima, Shikoku Island team operating with the Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries Ltd, has developed a laser to control the size of polymer gel, a finding that is seen likely to lead to micro-machine valves and artificial muscles. This development was reported in a recent issue of the highly respected scientific journal, Nature, which writes about the new technology for the commercial development of blood-group sensors, research was done by a well-known Scientist, Dr Hiroaki Misawa. His team fashioned the polymer gel material poly-N-isopropylacrylamide into a tube shape with a 50 nm diameter and then exposed the gel to a fine focused beam of laser light while keeping it at a constant temperature of 23°C (73°F).

When the group did this, the area of the gel in a very small region around the point of the light contracted 30 mm in diameter and returned to the original size when the laser beam was turned off.

According to Misawa, the laser light hits the polymer gel with a radiation force of some 25 megapascals, the equivalent of 200 atmospheres. This force alters the polymer's molecular structure, pushing out water molecules and causing the gel to contract. If light radiation also causes biological molecules to contract, it might then be possible to design diagnostic tests that work by measuring the light response of proteins.