Preparation of thermoresponsive core–shell polymeric microspheres and hollow PNIPAM microgels

Effect of Internal Architecture on the Assembly of Soft Particles at Fluid Interfaces

Monolayers of soft colloidal particles confined at fluid interfaces are at the core of a broad range of technological processes, from the stabilization of responsive foams and emulsions to advanced lithographic techniques. However, establishing a fundamental relation between their internal architecture, which is controlled during synthesis, and their structural and mechanical properties upon interfacial confinement remains an elusive task. To address this open issue, which defines the monolayer's properties, we synthesize core-shell microgels, whose soft core can be chemically degraded in a controlled fashion. This strategy allows us to obtain a series of particles ranging from analogues of standard batch-synthesized microgels to completely hollow ones after total core removal. Combined experimental and numerical results show that our hollow particles have a thin and deformable shell, leading to a temperature-responsive collapse of the internal cavity and a complete flattening after adsorption at a fluid interface. Mechanical characterization shows that a critical degree of core removal is required to obtain soft disk-like particles at an oil-water interface, which present a distinct response to compression. At low packing fractions, the mechanical response of the monolayer is dominated by the outer polymer chains forming a corona surrounding the particles within the interfacial plane, regardless of the presence of a core. By contrast, at high compression, the absence of a core enables the particles to deform in the direction orthogonal to the interface and to be continuously compressed without altering the monolayer structure. These findings show how fine, single-particle architectural control during synthesis can be engineered to determine the interfacial behavior of microgels, enabling one to link particle conformation with the resulting material properties.

Temperature-Responsive Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) Nanogels: The Role of Hollow Cavities and Different Shell Cross-Linking Densities on Doxorubicin Loading and Release

Smart polymers with extraordinary characteristics are studied in drug-delivery applications. In the current study, temperature-responsive hybrid core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized by precipitation polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide and vinyl-modified silica nanoparticles. These temperature-responsive hybrid core-shells were prepared with different cross-linking densities by using 2, 4, and 8 mol % of N,N-methylene bisacrylamide (MBA). Hydrolysis of the silica cores of the hybrid core-shells resulted in hollow poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) nanogels. Functionalization of silica nanoparticles with vinyl-containing silane modifier of 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate (MPS) in two different contents was proven by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Preparation of the hybrid PNIPAM nanogels and etching of the silica cores were studied using thermogravimetric analysis and also electron microscopy imaging. Sensitivity of the PNIPAM nanogel samples to temperature was studied using ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. In addition, dynamic light scattering was used for investigation of the squeezing and expansion of the hybrid and hollow samples against variation of temperature. The UV-vis spectroscopy results display higher absorption intensities in higher contents of MPS modifier and MBA cross-linker. The swelling content of the nanogels with hollow cavities was higher than that of the hybrid samples. The hybrid nanogels with 2 and 8 wt % silica content and different cross-linking densities and also their hollow nanoparticles were used for loading and release of doxorubicin (DOX). The release characteristics of the DOX-loaded nanogels were studied at different temperatures using UV-vis spectroscopy. The DOX release was higher at temperatures lower than the gel collapse temperature of the PNIPAM network. Although the nanogels with hollow cavities displayed higher loading capacities, the release percentage was higher for the hybrid PNIPAM nanogels, which was confirmed by the experimental release profiles and mathematical models. The most appropriate fitting of the DOX release data from the PNIPAM nanogel samples was observed for the Korsmeyer-Peppas model. Cytotoxicity studies on HeLa cell line showed that drug-loaded hollow samples showed higher toxicity due to loading of a higher amount of DOX.

Hyperspectral Multiplexed Biological Imaging of Nanoprobes Emitting in the Short-Wave Infrared Region

Optical bioimaging with exogenous luminophores emitting in short-wave infrared spectral region (SWIR, ~ 1000-1700 nm) is a rapidly developing field, and the development of multiple SWIR-photoluminescent nanoprobes has recently been reported. In this regard, hyperspectral imaging (HSI), combined with unmixing algorithms, is a promising tool that can allow for efficient multiplexing of the SWIR-emitting nanoagents by their photoluminescence (PL) spectral profiles. The SWIR HSI technique reported here is developed to multiplex two types of nanoprobes: polymeric nanoparticles doped with organic dye (PNPs) and rare-earth doped fluoride nanoparticles (RENPs). Both types of nanoprobes exhibit PL in the same spectral range (~ 900-1200 nm), which hinders spectral separation of PL with optical filters and limits possibilities for their multiplexed imaging in biological tissues. By applying SWIR HSI, we exploited differences in the PL spectral profiles and achieved the spectrally selective and sensitive imaging of the PL signal from every type of nanoparticles. Unmixing of acquired data allowed for multiplexing of the spectrally overlapping nanoprobes by their PL profile. Both quantitative and spatial distribution for every type of nanoparticles were obtained from their mixed suspensions. Finally, the SWIR HSI technique with unmixing protocol was applied to in vivo imaging of mice subcutaneously injected with PNPs and RENPs. The applicability of hyperspectral techniques to multiplex nanoprobes in the in vivo imaging was successfully demonstrated.

Uptake of Chlorin e6 Photosensitizer by Polystyrene-Diphenyloxazole-Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) Hybrid Nanosystem Studied by Electronic Excitation Energy Transfer

Polystyrene (PS)-diphenyloxazole (PPO) nanoparticles with attached cross-linked poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) chains were obtained resulting in PS-PPO-PNIPAM hybrid nanosystems (NS). Fluorescence spectra of chlorin e₆ added to PS-PPO-PNIPAM hybrid NS revealed electronic excitation energy transfer (EEET) from PS matrix and encapsulated PPO to chlorin e₆. EEET efficiency increased strongly during 1 h after chlorin e₆ addition, indicating that uptake of chlorin e₆ by PNIPAM part of hybrid NS still proceeds during this time. Heating of PS-PPO-PNIPAM-chlorin e₆ NS from 21 to 39 °C results in an enhancement of EEET efficiency; this is consistent with PNIPAM conformation transition that reduces the distance between PS-PPO donors and chlorin e₆ acceptors. Meanwhile, a relatively small part of chlorin e₆ present in the solution is bound by PNIPAM; thus, further studies in this direction are necessary.

Ag–Au bimetallic nanocomposites stabilized with organic–inorganic hybrid microgels: synthesis and their regulated optical and catalytic properties

Ag–Au bimetallic nanocomposites stabilized with organic–inorganic hybrid microgels allowed the mass transfer of reactants to be controlled by temperature modulation.

Responsive copolymer–graphene oxide hybrid microspheres with enhanced drug release properties

Graphene oxide deposited on thermoresponsive copolymer microspheres enhances their barrier diffusion properties and drug release performance.

Tuning the bridging attraction between large hard particles by the softness of small microgels

In this study, the attraction between large hard polystyrene (PS) spheres is studied by using three types of small microgels as bridging agents. One is a purely soft poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgel, the other two have a non-deformable PS hard core surrounded by a soft PNIPAM shell but are different in the core-shell ratio. The affinity for bridging the large PS spheres is provided and thus affected by the PNIPAM constituent in the microgels. The bridging effects caused by the microgels can be indirectly incorporated into their influence on the effective attraction interaction between the large hard spheres, since the size of the microgels is very small in comparison to the size of the PS hard spheres. At a given volume fraction of large PS spheres, they behave essentially as hard spheres in the absence of small microgels. By gradually adding the microgels, the large spheres are connected to each other through the bridging of small particles until the attraction strength reaches a maximum value, after which adding more small particles slowly decreases the effective attraction strength and eventually the large particles disperse individually when saturated adsorption is achieved. The aggregation and gelation behaviors triggered by these three types of small microgels are compared and discussed. A way to tune the strength and range of the short-range attractive potential via changing the softness of bridging microgels (which can be achieved either by using core-shell microgels or by changing the temperature) is proposed.

Composite hydrogels of polyacrylamide and crosslinked pH-responsive micrometer-sized hollow particles

Whilst hydrogels and hollow particles both continue to attract much attention in the literature there are few examples of hydrogel composites containing hollow particles. Here, we study composite polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogels containing micrometer-sized pH-responsive shell-crosslinked hollow particles (abbreviated as HPXL) based on poly(methylmethacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) functionalised with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). The HPXL particles were prepared using our scaleable emulsion template method and inclusion of GMA was found to promote spherical hollow particle formation. The pendant vinyl groups from GMA enabled shell-crosslinked hollow particles to be prepared prior to formation of the PAAm/HPXL composite gels. The morphologies of the particles and composite gels were studied by optical microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Dynamic rheology measurements for the composite gels showed that the modulus variation with HPXL concentration could be described by a percolation model with a HPXL percolation threshold concentration of 4.4 wt% and a scaling exponent of 2.6. The composite gels were pH-responsive and largely maintained their mechanical properties over the pH range 4.0 to 8.0. Because the composite gels had tuneable mechanical properties (with modulus values up to 530 kPa) and were pH-responsive they are potential candidates for future wound healing or membrane applications.

Thermally sensitive reversible microgels formed by poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) charged chains: a Hofmeister effect study

In this study, we present a new method to obtain anionic and cationic stable colloidal nanogels from PNIPAM charged chains. The stability of the particles formed by inter-chain aggregation stems from the charged chemical groups attached at the sides of PNIPAM polymer chains. The particle formation is fully reversible-that is, it is possible to change from stable polymer solutions to stable colloidal dispersions and vice versa simply by varying temperature. In addition, we also demonstrate that the polymer LCST (lower critical solution temperature), the final particle size and the electrokinetic behavior of the particles formed are highly dependent on the electrolyte nature and salt concentration. These latter results are related to Hofmeister effects. The analysis of these results provides more insights about the origin of this ionic specificity, confirming that the interaction of ions with interfaces is dominated by the chaotropic/kosmotropic character of the ions and the hydrophobic/hydrophilic character of the surface in solution.

Preparation of P(NIPAM-co-AA) microcontainers surface-anchored with magnetic nanoparticles

P(NIPAM-co-AA) microcontainers surface-anchored with magnetic nanoparticles were prepared using PSt/P(NIPAM-co-AA) core/shell microspheres and amino-modified Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2) particles as building blocks. At first, the PSt/P(NIPAM-co-AA) core/shell microspheres were prepared by seeded emulsion polymerization, and the amino-modified Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2) particles were prepared by a modified Stober method followed by functionalized by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. Then, the smaller amino-modified Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2) particles were assembled onto the surface of PSt/P(NIPAM-co-AA) core/shell microspheres by electrostatic interaction. Subsequently, the two particles were permanently combined through amidation reaction between carboxylic groups and amino groups under the catalysis of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide. By dissolving the PSt core with tetrahydrofuran, novel triple-functional microcontainers with superparamagnetism and pH and temperature sensitivity were obtained.