Pharmaceutical applications of digital manufacturing
Description
We use a modified organic vapor jet printing technique to deposit small molecular organic molecules for pharmaceutical applications. While this technique was originally used in patterning the emissive materials in OLEDs, as well as small organic molecules used in photovoltaic devices and thin film transistors, where extremely thin films and high resolution in-plane patterning is needed, a different set of requirements dominates the pharmaceutical application. This project looks closely at the crystalline morphology that can be generated using the anisotropic molecule transport in a vapor jet impinging on a surface, and the relationship of morphology to the material stability in the presence of a solvent. This is particularly relevant for poorly water soluble medicinal compounds, with which the small size of the crystallites formed, as well as the specific crystalline structure can enhance dissolution rate as compared to conventionally made dosage forms of the drug. This can have profound implications for getting such compounds into the body both faster and in a more controllable manner.
Relevant papers
- Shalev, O., Shtein, M., Raghavan, S., Mehta, G. (2018). Methods to enhance bioavavailability of organic small molecules and deposited films made therefrom. US Patent App. 15/579,871.
- Shalev, O., Raghavan, S., Mazzara, J. M., Senabulya, N., Sinko, P. D., Fleck, E., . . . Shtein, M. (2017). Printing of small molecular medicines from the vapor phase. Nature Communications, 8(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-017-00763-6.
Contact
- Hemanth Madalli, [email protected]
- Rachel Rajkumar, [email protected]
- Giselle Roca, [email protected]
Digital manufacturing and organic optoelectronics
Description
This project focuses on the design and digital fabrication of photonic and optoelectronic devices, including photonic crystals and photodetectors. We use a combination of optical modeling to design and predict the performance of the photonic structures and photodetecting devices, as well as a combination of coating and spectroscopy techniques to optimize material selection. This project is in collaboration with the Barton Group in Mechanical Engineering on using additive manufacturing techniques to create the photonic crystals and integrate them with organic photodetectors and light emitters. The resulting devices should help us achieve new capabilities in advanced imaging and health diagnostics.
Relevant papers
- Qu, B., Ding, K., Sun, K., Hou, S., Morris, S., Shtein, M., Forrest, S. R. Fast Organic Vapor Phase Deposition of Thin Films in Light-Emitting Diodes. (2020). ACS nano, 14 (10), 14157-14163.
- Iezzi, B., Afkhami, Z., Sanvordenker, S., Hoelzle, D., Barton, K., Shtein, M. Electrohydrodynamic Jet Printing of 1D Photonic Crystals: Part II—Optical Design and Reflectance Characteristics. (2020). Advanced Materials Technologies 5 (10), 2000431.
- Afkhami, Z., Iezzi, B., Hoelzle, D., Shtein, M., Barton, K. Electrohydrodynamic Jet Printing of One‐Dimensional Photonic Crystals: Part I—An Empirical Model for Multi‐Material Multi‐Layer Fabrication. (2020). Advanced Materials Technologies 5 (10), 2000386.
- Alam, M., F., Shtein, M., Barton, K., Hoelzle, D. Autonomous Manufacturing Using Machine Learning: A Computational Case Study With a Limited Manufacturing Budget. (2020). International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference. 84263, V002T07A009.
Contact
- Brian Iezzi, [email protected]
- Binyu Wang, [email protected]
- Ikenna Ozofor, [email protected]
- Eric Yi, [email protected]
Origami and kirigami based flexible smart materials, systems, and devices
Description
This project takes inspiration from origami and kirigami, the ancient Japanese arts of paper folding and cutting, to engineer global elasticity in materials, and use it in creating novel flexible devices with unprecedented capabilities. Cutting a sheet in a particular pattern allows it to conform to a curved surface, and/or achieve mechanical properties controlled substantially by the cut geometry, rather than intrinsic properties of the material itself. Our objectives include developing an integrated solar tracking system for rooftop mountable photovoltaic panels, and novel devices for health-monitoring and rehabilitation applications. As part of these objectives, we also seek to use shape memory materials with kirigami to obtain new modes of actuation.
Relevant papers
- Gamble, L., Lamoureux, A., Shtein, M. Multifunctional composite kirigami skins for aerodynamic control. (2020). Applied Physics Letters, 117, 254105.
- Evke, E. E., Huang, C., Wu, Y., Arwashan, M., Lee, B., Forrest, S. R., Shtein, M. Kirigami-Based Compliant Mechanism for Multiaxis Optical Tracking and Energy-Harvesting Applications. (2020). Advanced Engineering Materials, 2001079.
- Evke, E. E., Meli, D., Shtein, M. Developable Rotationally Symmetric Kirigami‐Based Structures as Sensor Platforms. (2019). Advanced Materials Technologies, 4 (12), 1900563.
Contact
- Chao Huang, [email protected]
- Katie Wei, [email protected]
*We have open positions for post-doc, graduate, and undergraduate students