6 research outputs found
Visible Light-Mediated Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly in the Absence of External Catalyst or Initiator
We
report the use of visible light to mediate a RAFT dispersion
polymerization in the absence of external catalyst or initiator to
yield nanoparticles of different morphologies according to a polymerization-induced
self-assembly (PISA) mechanism. A POEGMA macro-chain transfer agent
(macro-CTA) derived from a 4-cyano-4-((dodecylsulfanylthiocarbonyl)Âsulfanyl)Âpentanoic
acid (CDTPA) RAFT agent can be activated under blue (460 nm, 0.7 mW/cm<sup>2</sup>) or green (530 nm, 0.7 mW/cm<sup>2</sup>) light and act simultaneously
as a radical initiator, chain transfer agent, and particle stabilizer
under ethanolic dispersion conditions. In particular, the formation
of worm-like micelles was readily monitored by the increase of reaction
viscosity during the polymerization; this method was shown to be particularly
robust to different reaction parameters such as macro-CTAs of varying
molecular weight. Interestingly, at high monomer conversion, different
morphologies were formed depending on the wavelength of light employed,
which may be due to differing degrees of polymerization control. Finally,
the in situ encapsulation of the model hydrophobic drug, Nile Red,
was demonstrated, suggesting applications of this facile process for
the synthesis of nanoparticles for drug delivery applications
Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly Using Visible Light Mediated Photoinduced Electron TransferâReversible AdditionâFragmentation Chain Transfer Polymerization
The ruthenium-based photoredox catalyst,
RuÂ(bpy)<sub>3</sub>Cl<sub>2</sub>, was employed to activate reversible
additionâfragmentation
chain transfer (RAFT) dispersion polymerization via a photoinduced
electron transfer (PET) process under visible light (λ = 460
nm, 0.7 mW/cm<sup>2</sup>). PolyÂ(oligoÂ(ethylene glycol) methyl ether
methacrylate) was chain extended with benzyl methacrylate to afford
in situ self-assembled polymeric nanoparticles with various morphologies.
The effect of different intrinsic reaction parameters, such as catalyst
concentration, total solids content, and cosolvent addition was investigated
with respect to the formation of different nanoparticle morphologies,
including spherical micelles, worm-like micelles, and vesicles. Importantly,
highly pure worm-like micelles were readily isolated due to the in
situ formation of highly viscous gels. Finally, âON/OFFâ
control over the dispersion polymerization was demonstrated by online
Fourier transform near-infrared (FTNIR) spectroscopy, allowing for
temporal control over the nanoparticle morphology
Visible Light-Mediated Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly Using Continuous Flow Reactors
We present the synthesis
of polymeric nanoparticles of targeted
morphology in a continuous process via visible light-mediated aqueous
RAFT polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). A trithiocarbonate-derived
polyÂ(ethylene glycol) (PEG) macroRAFT was activated in the presence
of hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA) at 37 °C under blue light
irradiation (460 nm), leading to the formation of PEG-<i>b</i>-PÂ(HPMA) nanoparticles. The method is attractive in its simplicityîžspheres,
worms, and vesicles can easily be obtained in a continuous fashion
with higher control in comparison to conventional batch procedures.
This allows for more accurate production of particle morphologies
and scalable synthesis of these nano-objects. The versatility of this
process was demonstrated by the <i>in situ</i> encapsulation
of an active compound
2â(Methylthio)ethyl Methacrylate: A Versatile Monomer for Stimuli Responsiveness and Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly in the Presence of Air
In
this communication, we investigate the photoinduced electron/energy
transferâreversible additionâfragmentation chain transfer
(PET-RAFT) polymerization of 2-(methylthio)Âethyl methacrylate (MTEMA)
using 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphine zinc (ZnTPP) as a photocatalyst
under visible red light (λ<sub>max</sub> = 635 nm). Interestingly,
the polymerization kinetics were not affected by the presence of air
as near identical polymerization kinetics were observed for non-deoxygenated
and deoxygenated systems, which is attributed to the singlet oxygen
quenching ability of MTEMA. In both cases, well-defined polymers were
obtained with good control over the molecular weight and molecular
weight distribution (MWD). Furthermore, we have demonstrated that
MTEMA can undergo the polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA)
process from a polyÂ(oligoÂ(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate)
(POEGMA) macromolecular chain transfer agent (macro-CTA) to yield
well-defined polymeric nanoparticles of various morphologies. These
nanoparticles were rapidly disassembled after exposure to visible
light due to the formation of singlet oxygen by the encapsulated ZnTPP
and subsequent rapid oxidation of the thioether group
Copolymers with Controlled Molecular Weight Distributions and Compositional Gradients through Flow Polymerization
We report a novel semicontinuous
method for producing polymer mixtures
with tailored molecular weight distributions (MWDs) and chemical compositions.
In contrast to recent methods disclosed for the production of tailored
MWDs, the current approach allows the MWD to be tailored at any point
in a multistep process. Optimization of a photoflow polymerization
process has been performed, where polymer fractions with variable
compositions can be produced and independently processed downstream.
This independent processing allows complex and tedious operations
to be significantly simplified and the polymer structure to be manipulated
by varying the production conditions. To illustrate the versatility
of our approach, we prepared low dispersity block copolymer mixtures
with tailored composition gradients through PET-RAFT polymerization,
using a facile one-pass flow technique
An Efficient and Highly Versatile Synthetic Route to Prepare Iron Oxide Nanoparticles/Nanocomposites with Tunable Morphologies
We
report a versatile synthetic method for the <i>in situ</i> self-assembly of magnetic-nanoparticle-functionalized polymeric
nanomorphologies, including spherical micelles and rod-like and worm-like
micelles and vesicles. PolyÂ(oligoethylene glycol methacrylate)-<i>block</i>-(methacrylic acid)-<i>block</i>-polyÂ(styrene)
(POEGMA-<i>b</i>-PMAA-<i>b</i>-PST) triblock copolymer
chains were simultaneously propagated and self-assembled via a polymerization-induced
self-assembly (PISA) approach. Subsequently, the carboxylic acid groups
in the copolymers were used to complex an iron ion (Fe<sup>II</sup>/Fe<sup>III</sup>) mixture. Iron oxide nanoparticles were then formed
in the central block, within the polymeric nanoparticles, via alkaline
coprecipitation of the ironÂ(II) and (III) salts. Nanoparticle morphologies,
particle sizes, molecular weights, and chemical structures were then
characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light
scattering (DLS), size exclusion chromatography
(SEC), and <sup>1</sup>H NMR measurements. TEM micrographs showed
that the average size of the magnetic nanoparticles was âŒ7
nm at the hydrophobic/hydrophilic nexus contained within the nanoparticles.
In addition, XRD was used to confirm the formation of iron oxide nanoparticles.
Importantly, the polymeric nanoparticle morphologies were not affected
by the coprecipitation of the magnetic nanoparticles. The hybrid nanoparticles
were then evaluated as negative MRI contrast agents, displaying remarkably
high transverse relaxivities (<i>r</i><sub>2</sub>, greater
than 550 mM<sup>â1</sup> s<sup>â1</sup> at 9.4 T); a
result, that we hypothesize, ensues from iron oxide nanoparticle clustering
at the hydrophobicâhydrophilic interface. This simple synthetic
procedure is highly versatile and produces nanocarriers of tunable
size and shape with high efficacy as MRI contrast agents and potential
utility as theranostic delivery vectors