Combinatorial and high-throughput polymer research : composition of complete workflows

Completion of the combinatorial polymer research workflow requires an extra sample prepn. step in the case a solid sample is required for characterization. Discretely prepd. sample libraries rather than continuous gradients offer the advantage of compatibility with existing workflows and well-defined compns. We demonstrate the feasibility of ink-jet printing for the prepn. of such polymer libraries. Our ink-jet printer uses micropipettes to aspirate a polymer soln. from a microtiterplate and print it on a substrate. 2% wt. polystyrene solns. could easily be printed, using a variety of solvents. However, printability of a polymer soln. decreases with mol. wt. and concn., partially due to elasticity effects. A polymer film could be created by printing an array of droplets such that they merge on the surface and leave a film after drying