Aqueous block copolymer micelles: highly functional nanoparticle building blocks
Simon Biggs,* Pavlina Mantzana, Timothy Addison,
Gaelle Bacquey, and Steven P. Armes**
Institute of Particle Science and Engineering
School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering, The
University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT
**School of Chemistry, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3
7HF.
*Corresponding author, research
overview.
Stimulus responsive water-soluble block copolymers where micelle aggregate formation or break-up can be easily triggered using a simple stimulus such as pH or temperature have received increasing interest over the last decade. This has been promoted by the improved synthetic methodologies now available that allow the design and manufacture of a much wider range of well-controlled polymer architectures. We have been exploring the use of so-called double hydrophilic copolymers such as poly(2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate)-block-poly (2-(diethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) (PDEAEMA-b-PDMAEMA) as nanoscale particulate building blocks for complex surface coatings with applications in a number of areas such as encapsulation, wetting control and as sensor materials. The key feature of interest with polymers of this type is their stimulus responsive character; in our work we have been exploring the use of pH as a trigger for the formation and break-up of micelle aggregates in bulk solution. Here we will illustrate how deposition of such stimulus responsive micelles onto substrates can be used to produce either surface coatings or capsule walls. In either case, the functionality of the building blocks provides significant 'tuneable' functionality to the surface coating or capsule produced.
