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Background
Ruben Morones was born in
Mexico City, Mexico. He received his B.S. in
Chemical Engineering in 2003 from Universidad
Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, the second largest state
university of Mexico. As an undergraduate he
researched in the area of catalysis for the
improvement of NOx reduction in three way catalytic
converters. The research was conducted under Dr.
Gustavo Adolfo Fuentes and was part of two summer
research programs in the Universidad Metropolitana
in Mexico City. He is currently pursuing his PhD at
the University of Texas under Dr. Wolfgang Frey and
Dr. Nicholas Peppas.
Research Summary
My PhD research focuses on the use of silver
nanoparticles for biological applications. Noble
metal nanocrystals exhibit size dependant
electromagnetic, catalytic and optical properties.
The exploration of these properties applied in
developing cell specific drug delivery devices is
the main goal of my research.
Devices that are able to release different
compounds at well defined multiple locations are
extremely powerful tools in the areas of
therapeutics and biological research. The objective
is to design a microfluidics system that will
integrate light responsive porous polycarbonate
membranes to deliver multiple or single chemical
components and study the reaction of individual
cells.
The responsive component of the porous membranes
is triggered by responsive polymers grafted in their
pore walls. Since a copolymer responsive to light
and temperature is employed, the silver
nanostructures will be incorporated in the system to
enhance the response of the polymers in two ways.
The silver nanoparticles present a phenomenon called
surface plasmon resonance where the surface
electrons of the particle move collectively with
specific wavelengths. When these electron relax from
their excited form they free energy by scattering
and by heating their surrounding environment. This
will allow and enhancement in temperature
sensitivity and the increase in light absorption
will enhance the light sensitivity of it. Using
these two mechanisms we will be able to change the
permeability of the pores and allow cell specific
delivery of the components to study the reaction of
the individual cell.
Publications
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