Amphiphilic Quantum Dots with Asymmetric, Mixed Polymer Brush Layers: From Single Core-Shell Nanoparticles to Salt-Induced Vesicle Formation.

ABSTRACT: A mixed micelle approach is used to produce amphiphilic brush nanoparticles (ABNPs) with cadmium sulfide quantum dot (QD) cores and surface layers of densely grafted (σ = ~1 chain/nm²) and asymmetric (fPS = 0.9) mixed polymer brushes that contain hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) and hydrophilic poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMAA) chains (PS/PMAA-CdS). In aqueous media, the mixed brushes undergo conformational rearrangements that depend strongly on prior salt addition, giving rise to one of two pathways to fluorescent and morphologically disparate QD-polymer colloids. (A) In the absence of salt, centrosymmetric condensation of PS chains forms individual core-shell QD-polymer colloids. (B) In the presence of salt, non-centrosymmetric condensation of PS chains forms Janus particles, which trigger an

SUBMITTER: Coleman BR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6414905 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature