The Synthesis Platform

Several research groups have expertise in synthesising specialised materials for experiments, and an inventory of available samples has been placed below. “The inventory helps people to broaden and enrich their research, exploring composite materials they would not have thought of using before” says Luis Liz-Marzán of the Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials – CIC biomaGUNE, Spain, who organises the Synthesis Platform.

Samples available include polymers with different architectures. Jürgen Allgaier at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany, for example, synthesises well-characterised polymers, not only for colleagues in Jülich but also for other SoftComp partners. “It is important to characterise the material extremely well, in terms of chain length, molecular weight distribution and branching, for experiments,” he explains. “We have made H-branched polymers for flow experiments, which had precisely two, well-defined arms, no more and no less,” he adds. In addition, Dr Allgaier prepares polymer samples for neutron-scattering experiments, in which hydrogen atoms have been selectively replaced by the heavier isotope deuterium. Polymers with well-defined star shapes are also supplied by Dimitris Vlassopoulos and his colleagues at the University of Athens, Greece.

Another important group of materials essential for studies of soft composites are colloids; some are available through Professor Liz-Marzán and his group. They supply not only metallic nanoparticles – gold nanorods and spheres and silver platelets – but also more sophisticated materials such as latex spheres coated with carbon nanotubes. “We supply nanospheres with fluorescent tags for studies of the transport of viruses through biological membranes, for example. We have also collaborated on developing complex nanocomposites prepared from polymers and nanoparticles. The Synthesis Platform has led to many more connections between research areas than expected; it has been really successful,” he explains.

Synthesis Platform Leader: Prof. Dr. Luis M. Liz-Marzán, CIC biomaGUNE, Ikerbasque, CIBER-BBN, Spain

Contact: Luis Liz-Marzán

Specialised materials for experiments, such as nanoparticles, are synthesised and made available through the Synthesis Platform Copyright: University of Vigo, J. Mater. Chem. 2005, 15, 1755-59. Reproduced by permission of The Royal Society of Chemistry

Overview Table: Polymer Synthesis

Polymer	Partner	Homepage	Scientists in charge	Available for SoftComp partners	Training
Homopolymers	Forschungszentrum Jülich – Richter	www.fz-juelich.de	Jürgen Allgaier	60 days per year	Required and offered at Forschungszentrum Jülich – one week for persons with experience in synthesis.
	FORTH / University of Athens – Vlassopoulos	http://www.chem.uoa.gr/courses/ polymers/PG_Polym_Index.htm	E.Iatrou	45 days per year	On-site 5 days training and then collaborative work. supervision is sufficient.
Block Copolymers	FORTH / University of Athens – Vlassopoulos	http://www.chem.uoa.gr/courses/ polymers/PG_Polym_Index.htm	E.Iatrou	45 days per year	On-site 5 days training and then collaborative work. supervision is sufficient.
Amphiphilic Polymers	Solvay	www.solvay.com	P. Maestro		Not available
	FORTH / University of Athens – Vlassopoulos	http://www.chem.uoa.gr/courses/ polymers/PG_Polym_Index.htm	E.Iatrou	45 days per year	On-site 5 days training and then collaborative work. supervision is sufficient.
Branched Polymers	Forschungszentrum Jülich – Richter	www.fz-juelich.de	Jürgen Allgaier	60 days per year	Required and offered at Forschungszentrum Jülich – one week for persons with experience in synthesis.
	FORTH / University of Athens – Vlassopoulos	http://www.chem.uoa.gr/courses/ polymers/PG_Polym_Index.htm	E.Iatrou	45 days per year	On-site 5 days training and then collaborative work. supervision is sufficient.
Cyclic Polymers	FORTH / University of Athens – Vlassopoulos	http://www.chem.uoa.gr/courses/ polymers/PG_Polym_Index.htm	E.Iatrou	45 days per year	On-site 5 days training and then collaborative work. supervision is sufficient.
End Functionalized Polymers	CNRS Montpellier – Porte	www.univ-montp2.fr	Martin In	3 months per year	The synthesis procedures can also be taught
	FORTH / University of Athens – Vlassopoulos	http://www.chem.uoa.gr/courses/ polymers/PG_Polym_Index.htm	E.Iatrou	45 days per year	On-site 5 days training and then collaborative work. supervision is sufficient.
Polymerisation Reactors, Synthesis Tools And Analytical Tools	Solvay	www.solvay.com	Gérard Bacquet	This equipment can be used for the preparation of samples to be shared between the partners for physico-chemical studies	Not available

Access: contact scientist in charge.

Colloid Synthesis

Colloid	Partner	Homepage	Scientists in charge	Available for SoftComp partners	Training
Spheres	Forschungszentrum Jülich – Dhont	www.fz-juelich.de	Johan Buitnehuis	10 days per year	Minimum knowledge of colloid chemistry is recommended.
	Utrecht University – van Blaaderen	www.colloid.nl	Alfons van Blaaderen	20 days per year	Minimum knowledge of colloid chemistry is recommended.
	Univ. Vigo – Liz Marzán	webs.uvigo.es/coloides/nano/	Jorge Pérez-Juste Isabel Pastoriza-Santos	60 days per year	Minimum knowledge of colloid chemistry is recommended.
Rods	Forschungszentrum Jülich – Dhont	www.fz-juelich.de	Johan Buitnehuis	10 days per year	Minimum knowledge of colloid chemistry is recommended.
Rods	Univ. Vigo – Liz Marzán	webs.uvigo.es/coloides/nano/	Jorge Pérez-Juste Isabel Pastoriza-Santos	60 days per year	Minimum knowledge of colloid chemistry is recommended.
Platelets	Univ. Vigo – Jorge Pérez-Juste	webs.uvigo.es/coloides/nano/	Jorge Pérez-Juste Isabel Pastoriza-Santos	60 days per year	Minimum knowledge of colloid chemistry is recommended.
Inorganic Nanoparticles	Solvay	www.solvay.com	P. Maestro		Not available.

Access: contact scientist in charge.

Surfactants

Surfactant	Partner	Homepage	Scientists in charge	Available for SoftComp partners	Training
Cationic Gemini Surfactants And Surfactant Oligomers	CNRS Montpellier – Porte	www.univ-montp2.fr	Gregoire Porte
Formulation Cluster	Univ. Cologne – Strey	www.uni-koeln.de	tbd	24 days per year	Special training required; no training possibility available

Access: contact scientist in charge.

Synthesis