Welcome to the Moffitt Group

Contact Us:

Dr. Matthew G. Moffitt
Professor
Department of Chemistry
University of Victoria
P.O. Box 3065
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3V6
Tel.: (250) 721-7162
Fax.: (250) 721-7147
  Email: mmoffitt@uvic.ca

Videos:

Moffitt group featured in "Faces of UVic Research":

Video for faces of uvic moffitt


  ACS Companion Video for Perspective Article Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles: From Hairy Balls to Smart Molecular Mimics. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2013, 4, 3654:

Video for moffitt uvic

CREATE PoND:

I am co-director of the CREATE graduate training program "Polymer Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery (PoND)". For the PoND website, click on the NSERC logo below:

NSERC

Summer 2020 (top left to bottom right): Talita de Francesco, Matt Moffitt, Yuhang Huang, Riddhi Badhwar, Liza Silverman, Sun Kly, Anup Singh, Elliot Howell, Gitika Bhatti

Structural hierarchy is found everywhere around us: Nature is the grand architect of complex systems with function arising from organization on a multitude of length scales. Spurred by the growing need for a new generation of advanced materials for biomedical, computing, and alternative energy applications, chemists have begun to follow Nature's lead-- creating specially-designed nanoscale building blocks which self-assemble into complex structures under controlled conditions. Research in our group targets the use of spontaneous structure-forming processes in polymer systems (e.g. phase separation, dewetting, micellization) for the design of polymer/inorganic nanocomposites with properties determined by organization on a combination of length scales. "Tuning in" of specific function is the ultimate goal, by establishing precise control over (1) the size and (2) the organization (patterning) of nano-sized inorganic structural elements (quantum dots) in a polymer matrix. These issues are addressed using self-assembly strategies to pattern hybrid polymer/nanoparticle building blocks over length scales ranging from a few nanometers to several micrometers.


Self-Assembly of "Smart" Amphiphilic Nanoparticles

Block copolymers are synthesized in our group using controlled anionic polymerization techniques. The self-assembly of these materials in various environments (e.g. solutions, polymer blends, surfaces) results in a wide range of polymer and polymer/nanoparticle structures, which are probed over a range of length scales using transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM, SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), laser scanning confocal fluorescence microscopy (LSCFM), and light scattering.  Various spectroscopic techniques, including static and time-resolved fluorescence, optical reflectance and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, are used to establish relationships between structure and optical properties, exploring the potential for new nonlinear optical materials, photonic bandgap colloidal crystals, and light-emitting elements for photonic circuits.


 
Langmuir Blodgett Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers and Nanoparticles

More recently, we have become interested in exploring the facinating effects of high-shear environments in specially-designed microfluidic reactors on the self-assembly of block copolymers.  The resulting top-down flow control of nanoscale colloidal morphologies and their internal crystallinities opens up exciting possibilities for patient-specific drug delivery in point-of-care devices.


Flow-Tunable Block Copolymer Self-Assembly in Microfluidic Devices


Selected Publications

  1. Huang, Y.; Moini Jazani, A.; Howell, E. P.; Oh, J. K.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2019 Controlled Microfluidic Synthesis of Biological Stimuli-Responsive Polymer Nanoparticles. ACS Appl. Mater. Interf., Articles ASAP.
  2. Hood, J.; Van Gordon, K.; Thomson, P.; Coleman, B. R.; Burns, F.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2019 Structural Hierarchy in Blends of Amphiphilic Block Copolymers Self-Assembled at the Air-Water Interface. J. Coll. Interf. Sci., 556, 392-400.
  3. Jensen, D.; Cao, Y.; Lu, C.; Hof, R.; Wulff, J. E.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2019 Microfluidic Manufacturing of SN-38-Loaded Polymer Nanoparticles with Shear Processing Control of Drug Delivery Properties. Can. J. Chem., 97, 337-343.
  4. Cao, Y.; Silverman, Y.; Lu, C.; Hof, R.; Wulff, J. E.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2018 Microfluidic Manufacturing of SN-38-Loaded Polymer Nanoparticles with Shear Processing Control of Drug Delivery Properties. Molec. Pharm., 16, 96-107.
  5. Chen, R.; Wulff, J. E.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2018 Microfluidic Processing Approach to Controlling Drug Delivery Properties of Curcumin-Loaded Block Copolymer Nanoparticles. Molec. Pharm., 15, 4517-4528.
  6. Coleman, B.R.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2018 Amphiphilic Inorganic Nanoparticles with Mixed Polymer Brush Layers of Variable Composition: Bridging the Paradigms of Block Copolymer and Nanoparticle Self-Assembly. Chem. Mater., 30, 2474-2482.
  7. Coleman, B.R.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2018 Amphiphilic Quantum Dots with Asymmetric, Mixed Polymer Brush Layers: From Single Core-Shell Nanoparticles to Salt-Induced Vesicle Formation. Polymers, 10, 327.
  8. Bains, A.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2017 Effects of Chemical and Processing Variables on Paclitaxel-Loaded Polymer Nanoparticles Prepared Using Microfluidics. J. Coll. Interf. Sci., 508, 203-213.
  9. Xu, Z.; Lu, C.; Lindenberger, C.; Cao, Y.; Wulff, J. E.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2017 Synthesis, Self-Assembly, and Drug Delivery Characteristics of Poly (methyl caprolactone-co-caprolactone)-b-poly (ethylene oxide) Copolymers with Variable Compositions of Hydrophobic Blocks: Combining Chemistry and Microfluidic Processing for Polymeric Nanomedicines. ACS Omega, 2, 5289-5303.
  10. Marcelo, G.; Burns, F.; Ribeiro, T.; Martinho, J. M. G.; Tarazona, M. P.; Saiz, E.; Moffitt, M. G.*; Farinha, J. P. S.* 2017 Versatile Tetrablock Copolymer Scaffold for Hierarchical Colloidal Nanoparticle Assemblies: Synthesis, Characterization, and Molecular Dynamics Simulation. Langmuir, 33, 8201-8212.
  11. Bains, A.; Cao, Y.; Kly, S.; Wulff, J. E.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2017 Controlling Structure and Function of Polymeric Drug Delivery Nanoparticles Using Microfluidics. Molec. Pharm., 14, 2595-2606.
  12. Xu, Z.; Lu, C.; Riordon, J.; Sinton, D., Moffitt, M. G.* 2016 Microfluidic Manufacturing of Polymeric Nanoparticles: Comparing Flow Control of Multiscale Structure in Single-Phase Staggered Herringbone and Two-Phase Reactors. Langmuir, 32, 12781-12789.
  13. Chen, J.; Burns, F.; Moffitt, M. G.; Wulff, J. E. 2016 A Thermally Crosslinked Functionalized Polydicyclopentadiene (fPDCPD) with a High Tg and Tunable Surface Energy. ACS Omega,1, 532-540. 
  14. Bains, A.; Leung, A. K. K.; Wulff, J. E.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2016 Microfluidic Synthesis of Dye-Loaded Polycaprolactone-block-poly(ethylene oxide) Nanoparticles: Insights into Flow-Directed Loading and In Vitro Release for Drug Delivery. J. Coll. Interf. Sci., 475, 136-148.

  15. Xu, Z.; Yan, B.; Riordon, J.; Zhao, Y.; Sinton, D., Moffitt, M. G.* 2015 Microfluidic Synthesis of Photoresponsive Spool-Like Block Copolymer Nanoparticles: Flow-Directed Formation and Light-Triggered Dissociation. Chem. Mater., 27, 8094-8104.

  16. Bains, A.; Cao, Y.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2015 Multiscale Control of Hierarchical Structure in Crystalline Block Copolymer Nanoparticles Using Microfluidics. Macromolec. Rapid Commun., 36, 2000-2005.
  17. Harirchian-Saei, S.; Wang, M. C. P.; Gates, B. D.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2014 Simultaneous Patterning of Two Different Types of Nanoparticles into Alternating Domains of a Striped Array of a Polymer Blend in a Single Spin-Casting Step. J. Coll. Interf. Sci., 433, 123-132.
  18. Moffitt, M. G.* 2013 Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles: From Hairy Balls to Smart Molecular Mimics. J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 4, 3654-3666.
  19. Wang, C.-W.; Bains, A.; Sinton, D.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2013 Flow-Directed Loading of Block Copolymer Micelles with Hydrophobic Probes in a Gas-Liquid Microreactor. Langmuir, 29, 8385-8394.
  20. Wang, C.-W.; Sinton, D.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2013 Morphological Control via Chemical and Shear Forces in Block Copolymer Self-Assembly in the Lab-on-Chip. ACS Nano, 7, 1424-1436.
  21. Ribeiro , T.; Prazeres, T. J. V.; Moffitt, M. G.*; Farinha, J. P. S.* 2013 Enhanced Photoluminescence from Micellar Assemblies of Cadmium Sulfide Quantum Dots and Gold Nanoparticles. J. Phys. Chem. C, 117, 3122-3133.
  22. Wang, C.-W.; Bains, A.; Sinton, D.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2012 Flow-Directed Assembly of Block Copolymer Vesicles in the Lab-on-Chip. Langmuir, 28, 15756-15761.
  23. Harirchian-Saei, S.; Wang, M. C. P.; Gates, B. D.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2012 Directed Polystyrene/Poly(methylmethacrylate) Phase Separation and Nanoparticle Ordering on Transparent Chemically-Patterned Substrates.  Langmuir, 28, 10838-10848.
  24. Wang, C.-W.; Sinton, D.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2011 Flow-Directed Block Copolymer Micelle Morphologies via Microfluidic Self-Assembly. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 133, 18853-18864.
  25. Izumi, C. M. S.; Moffitt, M. G.; Brolo A. G.* 2011 Statistics on Surface-Enhanced Resonance Raman Scattering from Single Nanoshells. J. Phys. Chem. C, 115, 19104–19109.
  26. Guo, Y.; Harirchian-Saei, S.; Izumi, C. M. S.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2011 Block Copolymer Mimetic Self-Assembly of Inorganic Nanoparticles. ACS Nano, 5, 3309-3318.
  27. Price, E. W.; Harirchian-Saei, S.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2011 Strands, Networks, and Continents from Polystyrene Dewetting at the Air-Water Interface: Implications for Amphiphilic Block Copolymer Self-Assembly. Langmuir, 27, 1364-1372 (invited article for special issue on Supramolecular Chemistry at Interfaces).
  28. Harirchian-Saei, S.; Wang, M. C. P.; Gates, B. D.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2010 Patterning Block Copolymer Aggregates via Langmuir-Blodgett Transfer to Microcontact-Printed Substrates. Langmuir, 26, 5998-6008.
  29. Wang, C.-W.; Oskooei, A.; Sinton, D.*; Moffitt, M. G.* 2010 Controlled Self-Assembly of Quantum Dot-Block Copolymer Colloids in Multiphase Microfluidic Reactors. Langmuir, 26, 716-723.
  30. Price, E. W.; Guo, Y.; Wang, C.-W.; Moffitt, M. G.* 2009 Block Copolymer Strands with Internal Microphase Separation Structure via Self-Assembly at the Air-Water Interface. Langmuir, 25, 6398-6406.
  31. Schabas, G.; Wang, C.-W.; Oskooei, A.; Yusuf, H.; Moffitt, M. G.*; Sinton, D.* 2008 Formation and Shear-Induced Processing of Quantum Dot Colloidal Assemblies in a Multiphase Microfluidic Chip. Langmuir, 24, 10596-10603.
  32. Marthandam, P.; Brolo, A. G.; Sinton, D.; Kavanagh, K. L.; Moffitt, M. G.; Gordon, R., 2008 Nanoholes in Metals with Applications to Sensors and Spectroscopy. Int. J. Nanotechnol., 5, 1058-1081.
  33. Schabas, G.; Yusuf, H.; Moffitt, M. G.*; Sinton, D.*, 2008 Controlled Self-Assembly of Quantum Dots and Block Copolymers in a Microfluidic Device. Langmuir, 24, 637-643.
  34. Guo, Y; Moffitt, M. G.*, 2007 “Smart” Self-Assembled Quantum Dots Regulate and Stabilize Structure in Phase-Separated Polymer Blends. Chem. Mater., 19, 6581-6587.

  35. Guo, Y; Moffitt, M. G.*, 2007 Semiconductor Quantum Dots with Environmentally-Responsive Mixed Polystyrene/Poly(methyl methacrylate) Brush Layers. Macromolecules, 40, 5868-5878. (Featured as one of Macromolecules Most-Accessed Articles in 2007.)

  36. Yusuf, H.; Kim W.-G.; Lee, D. H.; Aloshyna, M.; Brolo, A. G.; Moffitt, M. G.*, 2007 A Hierarchical Self-Assembly Route to Three-Dimensional Polymer-Quantum Dot Photonic Arrays. Langmuir, 23, 5251-5254.
  37. Cheyne, R. B.; Moffitt, M. G.*, 2007 Controllable Organization of Quantum Dots into Mesoscale Wires and Cables via Interfacial Block Copolymer Self-Assembly. Macromolecules 40, 2046-2057.
  38. Yusuf, H.; Kim W.-G.; Lee, D. H.; Guo, Y.; Moffitt, M. G.*, 2007 Size Control of Mesoscale Aqueous Assemblies of Quantum Dots and Block Copolymers. Langmuir, 23, 868-878.
  39. Cheyne, R. B.; Moffitt, M. G.*, 2006 Self-Assembly of Polystyrene-block-Poly(Ethylene Oxide) Copolymers at the Air-Water Interface: Is Dewetting the Genesis of Surface Aggregate Formation? Langmuir, 22, 8387-8396.
  40. Brolo, A. G.*; Kwok, S. C.; Cooper, M. C.; Moffitt, M. G.*; Wang, C.-W.; Gordon, R.; Riordon, J.; Kavanagh, K. L., 2006 Surface Plasmon-Quantum Dot Coupling from Arrays of Nanoholes. J. Phys. Chem. B  110, 8307-8313.
  41. Brolo, A. G.*; Kwok, S. C.; Moffitt, M. G.; Gordon, R.; Riordon, J.; Kavanagh, K. L., 2005 Enhanced Fluorescence from Arrays of Nanoholes in a Gold Film. J. Am. Chem. Soc, 127, 14936-14941.
  42. Cheyne, R. B.; Moffitt, M. G.*, 2005 Hierarchical Nanoparticle/Block Copolymer Surface Features via Synergistic Self-Assembly at the Air-Water Interface. Langmuir, 21, 10297-10300.
  43. Wang, C.-W.; Moffitt, M. G.*, 2005 Nonlithographic Hierarchical Patterning of Semiconducting Nanoparticles via Polymer/Polymer Phase Separation. Chem. Mater.,17, 3871-3878.
  44. Cheyne, R. B.; Moffitt, M. G.*, 2005 Novel Two-Dimensional “Ring and Chain” Morphologies in Langmuir-Blodgett Monolayers of PS-b-PEO Block Copolymers: Effect of Spreading Solution Concentration on Self-Assembly at the Air-Water Interface. Langmuir,21, 5453-5460.
  45. Wang, C.-W.; Moffitt, M. G.*, 2005 Use of Block-Copolymer Stabilized Cadmium Sulfide Quantum Dots as Novel Tracers for Laser Scanning Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy of Blend Morphology in Polystyrene/Poly(methyl methacrylate) Films. Langmuir, 21, 2465-2473.
  46. Wang, C.-W.; Moffitt, M. G.*, 2004 Surface-Tunable Photoluminescence from Block-Copolymer Stabilized Cadmium Sulfide Quantum Dots. Langmuir, 20, 11784-11796.