Nanospheres are hollow, colloidal, spherical particles whose diameter can be measured in nanometers. Because of their high permeability, they possess the ability to slide into individual cells undetected. This feature makes nanospheres ideal for targeted drug delivery, which can lead to innovative treatment and cures for otherwise untreatable diseases. This summer I will be attempting to form a protocol that my lab can utilize to successfully fabricate nanospheres well below the size of 500nm.

To achieve nanosphere fabrication, I will be using an emulsion solvent diffusion method. A solution of measured polymer and organic solvent is transferred into a known amount of stabilizer and emulsified using a sonicator with desired settings. A magnetic stirrer is used for the solvent evaporation process and the nanospheres are gathered by means of ultracentrifugation, followed by careful measurement of the isolated nanosphere dimensions. A Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is used to characterize the nanospheres.