Silica nanoparticle-loaded thermoresponsive block copolymer vesicles: a new post-polymerization encapsulation strategy and thermally triggered release.

ABSTRACT: A thermoresponsive amphiphilic diblock copolymer that can form spheres, worms or vesicles in aqueous media at neutral pH by simply raising the dispersion temperature from 1 °C (spheres) to 25 °C (worms) to 50 °C (vesicles) is prepared via polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). Heating such an aqueous copolymer dispersion from 1 °C up to 50 °C in the presence of 19 nm glycerol-functionalized silica nanoparticles enables this remarkable 'shape-shifting' behavior to be exploited as a new post-polymerization encapsulation strategy. The silica-loaded vesicles formed at 50 °C are then crosslinked using a disulfide-based dihydrazide reagent. Such covalent stabilization enables the dispersion to be cooled to room temperature without loss of the vesicle morphology, thus aiding characte

SUBMITTER: Czajka A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9400661 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature