Soft colloid polymeric nanoparticles have many potential applications such viscosity modifiers, porogens for the generation of porous thin films, drug delivery vehicles, biomedical imaging reagents, antimicrobial agents, nanoreactors, multifunctional reagents for biomedical applications, polymeric coordinating materials for metallic nanoparticles, catalysts for inorganic shell deposition, particulate coating media etc. We have been studying nanogel core-shell polymers for some time using an arm first bottom up approach to synthesis where the arms are generated by controlled polymerization techniques including anionic, controlled free radical and ring opening polymerization using organic catalysts. Using functionalized initiators and orthogonal polymerization techniques, we have produced a variety of multifunctional star polymers with various functionality, controlled molecular weights and low polydispersities. The size of these particles typically ranges from 10-50 nm and it is difficult to make larger particles by the bottom up procedure. Since larger particles were needed for biomedical applications, alternate routes have been explored. We have found that larger structures with similar molecular topologies can be prepared by core crosslinking of assembled block copolymer micelles. The linear components with graded functionality can be prepared using controlled radical polymerization techniques including ATRP and RAFT. I will describe the synthesis , characterization and potential applications of nanogel core crosslinked polymeric nanoparticles.

Nanogel core crosslinked polymeric nanoparticles by bottom up and top down approaches

248th National Meeting (2014)

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