Reduction of 2,3,5-Triphenyl-2H-tetrazolium Chloride in the Presence of Polyelectrolytes Containing 4-Styrenesulfonate Moieties

Nitrogen Dioxide Optical Sensor Based on Redox-Active Tetrazolium/Pluronic Nanoparticles Embedded in PDMS Membranes

Anthropogenic toxic vapour and gases are a worldwide threat for human health and to the environment. Therefore, it is crucial to develop highly sensitive devices that guarantee their rapid detection. Here, we prepared redox-switchable colloids by the in-situ reduction of 2,3,5-triphenyl-2H-tetrazolium (TTC) into triphenyl formazan (TF) stabilised with Pluronic F127 in aqueous media. The colloids were readily embedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to produce a selective colour-switchable membrane for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) detection. We found that the TTC reduction resulted in the production of red-coloured colloids with zeta potential between −1 to 3 mV and hydrodynamic diameters between 114 to 305 nm as hydrophobic dispersion in aqueous media stabilised by Pluronic at different molar concentrations. Moreover, the embedded colloids rendered highly homogenous red colour gas-permeable PDMS elastomeric membrane. Once exposed to NO2, the membrane began to bleach after 30 s due to the oxidation of the embedded TF and undergo a complete decolouration after 180 s. Such features allowed the membrane integration in a low-cost sensing device that showed a high sensitivity and low detection limit to NO2.

Concentration Dependent Single Chain Properties of Poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) Subjected to Aromatic Interactions with Chlorpheniramine Maleate Studied by Diafiltration and Synchrotron-SAXS

The polyelectrolyte poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) undergoes aromatic–aromatic interaction with the drug chlorpheniramine, which acts as an aromatic counterion. In this work, we show that an increase in the concentration in the dilute and semidilute regimes of a complex polyelectrolyte/drug 2:1 produces the increasing confinement of the drug in hydrophobic domains, with implications in single chain thermodynamic behavior. Diafiltration analysis at polymer concentrations between 0.5 and 2.5 mM show an increase in the fraction of the aromatic counterion irreversibly bound to the polyelectrolyte, as well as a decrease in the electrostatic reversible interaction forces with the remaining fraction of drug molecules as the total concentration of the system increases. Synchrotron-SAXS results performed in the semidilute regimes show a fractal chain conformation pattern with a fractal dimension of 1.7, similar to uncharged polymers. Interestingly, static and fractal correlation lengths increase with increasing complex concentration, due to the increase in the amount of the confined drug. Nanoprecipitates are found in the range of 30–40 mM, and macroprecipitates are found at a higher system concentration. A model of molecular complexation between the two species is proposed as the total concentration increases, which involves ion pair formation and aggregation, producing increasingly confined aromatic counterions in hydrophobic domains, as well as a decreasing number of charged polymer segments at the hydrophobic/hydrophilic interphase. All of these features are of pivotal importance to the general knowledge of polyelectrolytes, with implications both in fundamental knowledge and potential technological applications considering aromatic-aromatic binding between aromatic polyelectrolytes and aromatic counterions, such as in the production of pharmaceutical formulations.

Totally Organic Redox-Active pH-Sensitive Nanoparticles Stabilized by Amphiphilic Aromatic Polyketones

Amphiphilic aromatic polymers have been synthesized by grafting aliphatic polyketones with 4-(aminomethyl)benzoic acid at different molar ratios via the Paal-Knorr reaction. The resulting polymers, showing diketone conversion degree of 16%, 37%, 53%, and 69%, have been complexed with the redox-active 2,3,5-triphenyl-2H-tetrazolium chloride, a precursor molecule with which aromatic-aromatic interactions are held. Upon addition of ascorbic acid to the complexes, in situ reduction of the tetrazolium salt produced 1,3,5-triphenylformazan nanoparticles stabilized by the amphiphilic polymers. The stabilized nanoparticles display highly negative zeta potential [-(35-70) mV] and hydrodynamic diameters in the submicron range (100-400 nm). Nonaromatic polyelectrolytes or hydrophilic aromatic copolymers showing low linear aromatic density and high linear charge density such as acrylate/maleate and sulfonate/maleate-containing polymers were unable to stabilize formazan nanoparticles synthesized by the same method. The copolymers studied here bear uncharged nonaromatic comonomers (unreacted diketone units) as well as charged aromatic comonomers, which furnish amphiphilia. Thus, the linear aromatic density and the maximum linear charge density have the same value for each copolymer, and the hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance varies with the diketone conversion degree. The amphiphilia of the copolymers allows the stabilization of the nanoparticles, even with the copolymers showing a low linear aromatic density. The method of nanoparticle synthesis constitutes a simple, cheap, and green method for the production of switchable totally organic, redox-active, pH-sensitive nanoparticles that can be reversibly turned into macroprecipitates upon pH changing.

Facile Formation of Redox-Active Totally Organic Nanoparticles in Water by In Situ Reduction of Organic Precursors Stabilized through Aromatic-Aromatic Interactions by Aromatic Polyelectrolytes

The formation of redox-active, totally organic nanoparticles in water is achieved following a strategy similar to that used to form metal nanoparticles. It is based on two fundamental concepts: i) complexation through aromatic-aromatic interactions of a water-soluble precursor aromatic molecule with polyelectrolytes bearing complementary charged aromatic rings, and ii) reduction of the precursor molecule to achieve stabilized nanoparticles. Thus, formazan nanoparticles are synthesized by reduction of a tetrazolium salt with ascorbic acid using polyelectrolytes bearing benzene sulfonate residues of high linear aromatic density, but cannot be formed in the presence of nonaromatic polyelectrolytes. The red colored nanoparticles are efficiently encapsulated in calcium alginate beads, showing macroscopic homogeneity. Bleaching kinetics with chlorine show linear rates on the order of tenths of milli-meters per minute. A linear behavior of the dependence of the rate of bleaching on the chlorine concentration is found, showing the potential of the nanoparticles for chlorine sensing.

Comparative study of the self-aggregation of rhodamine 6G in the presence of poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate), poly(N-phenylmaleimide-co-acrylic acid), poly(styrene-alt-maleic acid), and poly(sodium acrylate)

The interaction between rhodamine 6G and different polyelectrolytes is analyzed. Structural aspects differentiate these polyelectrolytes, such as the presence of aromatic groups and the number and localization of their respective charges, which may be directly attached to the aromatic groups or to the polymeric main chain. In the case of poly(sodium acrylate), which does not bear aromatic groups, the polyelectrolyte induces cooperative self-stacking between the dyes which is highly sensitive to the ionic strength, due to the predominance of long-range electrostatic interactions between the polymer and the dye. In the case of poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate), whose charge is directly attached to the aromatic groups, a high dispersant ability of the dyes is found and the interaction is less dependent on the ionic strength, due to the predominance of short-range aromatic-aromatic interactions between the dye and the polymer. Among the two polyelectrolytes studied for which the polymeric charge is directly attached to the main chain, and separated from the aromatic group, poly(styrene-alt-maleic acid) shows a lower dependence of the interaction on the ionic strength than poly(N-phenylmaleimide-co-acrylic acid) at a comonomer composition of 1:2, due to a higher linear aromatic density and a lower linear charge density, indicating the importance of hydrophobic forces. Both copolymers exhibit a high ability to induce cooperative self-aggregation of the dye.