article published yes Carla Fernández-Rico author 492def71-6250-11f0-b278-d41dbd241b62 Taiki Yanagishima author Arran Curran author Dirk G. A. L. Aarts author Roel P. A. Dullens author The bulk synthesis of fluorescent colloidal SU‐8 polymer rods with tunable dimensions is described. The colloidal SU‐8 rods are prepared by shearing an emulsion of SU‐8 polymer droplets and then exposing the resulting non‐Brownian rods to ultrasonic waves, which breaks them into colloidal rods with typical lengths of 3.5–10 µm and diameters of 0.4–1 µm. The rods are stable in both aqueous and apolar solvents, and by varying the composition of apolar solvent mixtures both the difference in refractive index and mass density between particles and solvent can be independently controlled. Consequently, these colloidal SU‐8 rods can be used in both 3D confocal microscopy and optical trapping experiments while carefully tuning the effect of gravity. This is demonstrated by using confocal microscopy to image the liquid crystalline phases and the isotropic–nematic interface formed by the colloidal SU‐8 rods and by optically trapping single rods in water. Finally, the simultaneous confocal imaging and optical manipulation of multiple SU‐8 rods in the isotropic phase is shown. Wiley2019 eng 0935-9648 1521-4095 3086917710.1002/adma.201807514 3117 yes Fernández-Rico C, Yanagishima T, Curran A, Aarts DGAL, Dullens RPA. Synthesis of colloidal SU‐8 polymer rods using sonication. <i>Advanced Materials</i>. 2019;31(17). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201807514">10.1002/adma.201807514</a> Fernández-Rico C, Yanagishima T, Curran A, Aarts DGAL, Dullens RPA. 2019. Synthesis of colloidal SU‐8 polymer rods using sonication. Advanced Materials. 31(17), 1807514. Fernández-Rico, C., Yanagishima, T., Curran, A., Aarts, D. G. A. L., &#38; Dullens, R. P. A. (2019). Synthesis of colloidal SU‐8 polymer rods using sonication. <i>Advanced Materials</i>. Wiley. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201807514">https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201807514</a> C. Fernández-Rico, T. Yanagishima, A. Curran, D. G. A. L. Aarts, and R. P. A. Dullens, “Synthesis of colloidal SU‐8 polymer rods using sonication,” <i>Advanced Materials</i>, vol. 31, no. 17. Wiley, 2019. Fernández-Rico, Carla, Taiki Yanagishima, Arran Curran, Dirk G. A. L. Aarts, and Roel P. A. Dullens. “Synthesis of Colloidal SU‐8 Polymer Rods Using Sonication.” <i>Advanced Materials</i>. Wiley, 2019. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201807514">https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201807514</a>. Fernández-Rico, Carla, et al. “Synthesis of Colloidal SU‐8 Polymer Rods Using Sonication.” <i>Advanced Materials</i>, vol. 31, no. 17, 1807514, Wiley, 2019, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201807514">10.1002/adma.201807514</a>. C. Fernández-Rico, T. Yanagishima, A. Curran, D.G.A.L. Aarts, R.P.A. Dullens, Advanced Materials 31 (2019). 222082026-06-30T06:30:50Z2026-07-15T06:22:53Z