Responsive Polymer Nanoparticles Formed by Poly(ether amine) Containing Coumarin Units and a Poly(ethylene oxide) Short Chain

We reported a novel poly(ether amine) (PEAL) containing poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) short blocks and coumarin units, which seas synthesized by nucleophilic addition/ring-opening polymerization of diepoxy and diamine monomers. PEAC can be directly dispersed in aqueous solution as uniformly sized nanoparticles 50-60 nm in diameter. The whole process for aggregation of PEAC seas revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectra. The results show that these polymeric nanoparticles possess a very sharp response to temperature and light, and can form complex micromicelles with nanoparticles inside.