The Philadelphia Section of the STLE is pleased to award a $1,000 scholarship to fourth-year graduate student Gia Storti. Storti has worked under the direction of Professor Alexander Sidorenko since her freshman year continuing into her post-graduate career. Her work focuses on the multifunctional use of novel bottlebrush polymers, Hybrid Molecular Brushes (HMBs). HMBs are polymeric constructs consisting of a backbone and side chains of two or more polymers with varying chemical properties. The properties, size, and architecture of HMBs are governed by the characteristics of the side chains, the grafting density, and steric repulsion. Specifically, Storti is investigating HMBs with side chains that differ in hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity making them amphiphilic. These HMBs demonstrate low surface tension at the interface and form micelles or complex heterogeneous systems. HMBs with such properties have been investigated in a variety of applications including lubricants. She has developed a facile route toward the synthesis of a novel bio-benign hybrid block- graft copolymer, poly(isopropenyl oxazoline)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-polycaprolactone (PiPrOx-b-PEG-g-PCL). In conjunction with the surfactant-like properties of hybrid polymer, its unique architecture and bio-benign nature allow it to be potentially useful as a vehicle in drug delivery.
Storti has received awards for her research posters and presentation and has twice been awarded a university fellowship in recognition of her work. She is noted to be a core member of the Sidorenko group and has mentored a number of undergraduate research assistants.