ANS Savannah River Section Dinner Meeting and Technical Presentation - September 2024

Abstract: Tiny Bubbles or Porous Wall Hollow Glass Microspheres (PWHGMs), represent an example of Multi-use Technology. The technology was originally developed for nuclear applications at the Savannah River National Laboratory and now is being further advanced and tailored for a multitude of new uses in other fields and disciplines. The most unique feature that distinguishes the PWHGM technology from others is that its microspheres have a continuous, through-wall porosity that is induced via phase separation and subsequently controlled on a scale of 100 to 1,000 angstroms. This provides pathways from the outside of the microspheres to their interior and allows the tiny glass cocoons to be filled with cargos of interest, including solids, liquids, and gases. The cargos can then later be released on demand. Among the interesting initiatives are applications of tailored PWHGMs in medicine (e.g., drug delivery platforms, contrast agents, tissue augmentation, laryngeal use), security (e.g., non-proliferation, anti-counterfeiting), energy (e.g., hydrogen storage, batteries), and environmental remediation (e.g., CO2 sequestration). An overview of these one-of-a-kind materials along with recent research advances as a unique drug delivery platform, will be discussed.