We report on the synthesis of monodisperse, flower-like, liquid crystalline (LC) polymer particles by precipitation polymerization a LC mixture consisting benzoic acid-functionalized acrylates and disulfide-functionalized diacrylates. Introduction minor amount redox-responsive diacrylates (≤10 wt %) induced formation flower-like shapes. The shape can be tuned from flower- to disk-like spherical...

Microparticles composed of (meth)acrylic acid, potassium (meth)acrylate, and trifunctional pentaerythritol were prepared using a thermally initiated free radical precipitation polymerization in ethyl acetate. The particle synthesis method was investigated, and the structure and morphology of the microparticles was evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron mic...

Smart biomaterials composed of pH responsive polymers, poly((meth)acrylic acid), were synthesized using a precipitation polymerization technique. The microparticles were grafted with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains that are capable of complexing with the hydroxyl groups of the polyacid and interpenetrating into the mucus gel layer upon entry into the small intestine. Upon introduction of an ...

For decades scientists have been working on closed systems for transportation, catalysis and protection, which are inspired by natural cells. Only recently polymer based systems have emerged for these systems, since they are more robust, give protection from the environment and give a more stable membrane. Various methods have been developed to prepare polymer based capsules. They can be made b...

The effect of the size of the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) on the piezoelectric quartz crystal (PQC) sensor performance was investigated. Erythromycin imprinted polymers microspheres with different sizes were synthesized by precipitation polymerization. The size of the MIPs was characterized by using transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis. Being coated with a poly(vinyl chlori...

Small, monodispersed nanogels (~ 50-nm radius) were synthesized by free-radical precipitation polymerization and characterized using a suite of light scattering and chromatography methods. Nanogels were synthesized with either N-isopropylacrylamide or N-isopropylmethacrylamide as the main monomer, with acrylic acid or 4-acrylamidofluorescein as a co-monomer and N, N'-methylenebis(acrylamide) as...

Polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) is used for the highly convenient and efficient preparation of ampholytic diblock copolymer nanoparticles directly in acidic aqueous solution. Cationic nanoparticles comprising a protonated polyamine stabilizer block and a hydrophobic polyacid core-forming block are formed at pH 2. Micelle inversion occurs at pH 10 to produce anionic nanoparticles wit...

A single bi-functional monomer, N,O-bismethacryloyl ethanolamine (NOBE), was used in precipitation polymerization system to synthesize molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) microspheres. Highly specific binding sites were obtained for N-terminal protected neuropeptides, Boc-Leu-enkephalin and Pyr-Leu-enkephalin. The use of NOBE allowed binding sites to be formed in polymer microspheres that are a...