Scalable, Shape-Specific, Top-Down Fabrication Methods for the Synthesis of Engineered Colloidal Particles

The search for a method to fabricate nonspherical colloidal particles from a variety of materials is of growing interest. As the commercialization of nanotechnology continues to expand, the ability to translate particle-fabrication methods from a laboratory to an industrial scale is of increasing significance. In this feature article, we examine several of the most readily scalable top-down methods for the fabrication of such shape-specific particles and compare their capabilities with respect to particle composition, size, shape, and complexity as well as the scalability of the method. We offer an extensive examination of particle replication in nonwetting templates (PRINT) with regard to the versatility and scalability of this technique. We also detail the specific methods used in PRINT particle Fabrication, including harvesting, purification, and surface-modification techniques, with an examination of both past and current methods.