Hydroxyl end-functionalized poly(2-isopropyl oxazoline)s used as nano-sized colloidal templates for preparation of hollow polymeric nanocapsules

• DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2013.07.042
• Publication Date: 2013-07-24T14:46:45Z
• Authors: N. Toncheva; Ch. Tsvetanov; S. Rangelov; B. Trzebicka; A. Dworak
• Keywords: Nanocapsules; Dispersity

Abstract Hollow polymeric nanocapsules with a thermosensitive membrane are prepared and characterized. They reversibly change their dimensions during temperature variations below and above the transition of the membrane. The nanocapsules were prepared by three steps: (i) well-defined mesoglobules prepared from an LCST polymer (hydroxyl end functionalized poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline), PiPOZ-OH) were coated with a thermo-sensitive cross-linked shell formed via seeded radical copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and N,N′-bis-methylene acrylamide to produce core–shell nanoparticles (ii), which were subjected to extensive dialysis below the LCSTs of both the core-forming PiPOZ-OH and shell-forming PNIPAM to remove the core (iii). The use of a core-forming polymer of low molecular weight (