4.8 Article

Hollow Block Copolymer Nanoparticles through a Spontaneous One-step Structural Reorganization

Journal

ACS NANO
Volume 7, Issue 2, Pages 1120-1128

Publisher

AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/nn400272p

Keywords

polymer; hollow nanostructures; drying; microscopy; solution assembly; block copolymer; nanoparticles

Funding

  1. ESPRC
  2. AWE
  3. University of Warwick
  4. NIH-NCRR COBRE grant [P20RR017716]
  5. Department of Defense, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship [32 CFR 168a]
  6. DANSE project under NSF [DMR-0520547]
  7. Advantage West Midlands
  8. EPSRC
  9. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/G004897/1] Funding Source: researchfish
  10. EPSRC [EP/G004897/1] Funding Source: UKRI
  11. EPSCoR
  12. Office Of The Director [814251] Funding Source: National Science Foundation

Ask authors/readers for more resources

The spontaneous one-step synthesis of hollow nanocages and nanotubes from spherical and cylindrical micelles based on poly(acrylic acid)-b-polylactide (P(AA)-b-P(LA)) block copolymers (BCPs) has been achieved. This structural reorganization, which occurs simply upon drying of the samples, was elucidated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). We show that it was necessary to use stain-free imaging to examine these nanoscale assemblies, as the hollow nature of the particles was obscured by application of a heavy metal stain. Additionally, the internal topology of the P(AA)-b-P(LA) particles could be tuned by manipulating the drying conditions to give solid or compartmentalized structures. Upon resuspension, these reorganized nanoparticles retain their hollow structure and display significantly enhanced loading of a hydrophobic dye compared to the original solid cylinders.

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