Surface modification of polystyrene microsphere using ozone treatment

We report the surface modification of polystyrene microsphere by ozone treatment. The effects of the ozone treatment on the surface properties of polystyrene microsphere are probed using a series of measurements, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), scanning electron microscope(SEM), fluorescence microscope. As a result of above measurements, the surface of the sample contains a large number of carboxyl and hydroxy (mainly -COOH) groups. In addition, the polystyrene microsphere successfully connected with amino quantum dots which demonstrates the existence of functional groups. A major conclusion that can be drawn from the results and analysis described in this work is that the ozone treatment provides a feasible method for surface modification of polystyrene microsphere in the use of biological testing. The method is simple and universal, and the operation is simple and convenient to modify the carboxyl group.