Abstract: Disclosed herein are novel materials and methods of forming those novel materials. The materials are synthesized from Poly(acrylic acid), a crosslinker; and a salt. The material can be further synthesized from sodium hydroxide. The crosslinker can be a covalent crosslinking agent such as N,N?-methylenebisacrylamide. Examples of applicable salts are calcium chloride, lithium chloride, zinc chloride, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, barium chloride, cesium chloride, magnesium chloride, cobalt chloride, lithium bromide. In example, the Poly(acrylic acid) can be about 3 moles of Poly(acrylic acid), the crosslinker can be about 0.005 moles of N,N?-methylenebisacrylamide, and the salt can be formed by the addition of about 0.003 moles of potassium persulfate.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method of forming a photocurable polymer system. The method includes providing a polymer, providing a diaryl iodonium salt, blending said polymer and diaryl iodonium salt, applying the blend to a substrate; and crosslinking the blend. The polymer can be a silicone-based polymer, such as PDMS-ECHE. The polymer can also be ETBN. The blend can be crosslinked by exposing the blend to ultraviolet light, and the crosslinking can be cationic crosslinking. In one example, the wavelength of the ultraviolet light is 254 nm. The blend can be exposed to ultraviolet light for between about 10 seconds and 90 seconds. In one example, the blend is two percent by weight of the diaryl iodonium salt to the polymer.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are novel materials and methods of forming those novel materials. The materials are synthesized from Poly(acrylic acid), a crosslinker; and a salt. The material can be further synthesized from sodium hydroxide. The crosslinker can be a covalent crosslinking agent such as N,N?-methylenebisacrylamide. Examples of applicable salts are calcium chloride, lithium chloride, zinc chloride, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, barium chloride, cesium chloride, magnesium chloride, cobalt chloride, lithium bromide. In example, the Poly(acrylic acid) can be about 3 moles of Poly(acrylic acid), the crosslinker can be about 0.005 moles of N,N?-methylenebisacrylamide, and the salt can be formed by the addition of about 0.003 moles of potassium persulfate.

Abstract: In one embodiment, PAA is immobilized on dry, solid, fibrous media, such as cellulose fiber paper (“PAA-CF”) to yield a robust, flexible material with substantial wicking and fluid uptake capabilities. PAA-CF materials demonstrate the ability for use as collection and storage devices for applications such as dried blood spot analysis, protein and DNA preservation and analysis, enzymatic assays, biomarker identification, and other processes used for biological materials. PAA-CF materials can readily take up whole blood, plasma, proteins, and solutions of molecules that can then be easily extracted and analyzed.