Conjugated Functional Materials

Conjugated polymers (CPs) are synthetic organic materials exhibiting intrinsic fluorescence and unique structural properties. The structure-dependent fluorescent properties are excellent for labeling and monitoring of chemical/biological substances. The backbone rigidity and hydrophobicity contribute to unique self-assembly processes, offering aggregation structure and surface property controls that are pivotal for optimizing cellular interactions and entries.Image

Our research interest has focused on redesigning and controlling the self-assembly of CPs to maximize their performance in aqueous environments. Our group has developed novel synthetic and fabrication methods for biodegradable CPs and conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs) and used the polymeric materials for cellular imaging, sensing, and delivery of biologically active substances.

Current research focus is to invent functional materials for 1) therapeutic delivery to target tissues 2) monitoring of biological events at intracellular organelles, and 3) in vitro diagnostic platforms for fast and sensitive detection of cancer cells, bacteria, or glycosaminoglycan.

Contact Us

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular Sciences Institute

Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami, FL 33199

T: 305-348-1368; E: jmoon@fiu.edu