College of Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, P. R. China.
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, P. R. China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2021 Oct 6;13(39):47090-47099. doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c15071. Epub 2021 Sep 24.
Intelligent polymer nanocapsules that can not only encapsulate substances efficiently but also release them in a controllable manner hold great potential in many applications. To date, although intensive efforts have been made to develop intelligent polymer nanocapsules, how to construct the well-defined core/shell structure with high stability via a straightforward method remains a considerable challenge. In this work, the target novel zwitterionic nanocapsules (ZNs) with a stable hollow structure were synthesized by inverse reversible addition fragmentation transfer (RAFT) miniemulsion interfacial polymerization. The shell gradually grew from the water/oil interface due to the interfacial polymerization, accompanied by the cross-linking of the polyzwitterionic networks, where the core/shell structure could be well-tuned by adjusting the precursor compositions. The resultant ZNs exhibited a salt-/thermo-induced swelling behavior through the phase transition of the external zwitterionic polymers. To further investigate the functions of ZNs, different substances, such as methyl orange and bovine serum albumin (BSA), were encapsulated into the ZNs with a high encapsulation efficiency of 89.3 and 93.6%, respectively. Interestingly, the loaded substances can be controllably released in aqueous solution triggered by salt or temperature variations, and such responsiveness also can be utilized to bounce off the bacteria adhered on target surfaces. We believe that these designed salt- and thermo-responsive intelligent polymer nanocapsules with well-defined core/shell structures and antifouling surfaces should be a promising platform for biomedical and saline related applications.
能够高效封装物质且可控制释放的智能聚合物纳米胶囊在许多应用中具有巨大的潜力。迄今为止，尽管人们已经付出了巨大的努力来开发智能聚合物纳米胶囊，但如何通过简单的方法构建具有高稳定性的明确定义的核/壳结构仍然是一个相当大的挑战。在这项工作中，通过反可逆加成-断裂链转移（RAFT）细乳液界面聚合，合成了具有稳定空心结构的目标新型两性离子纳米胶囊（ZN）。由于界面聚合，壳逐渐从水/油界面生长，伴随着聚两性离子网络的交联，通过调整前体组成可以很好地调节核/壳结构。所得 ZN 通过外部两性离子聚合物的相转变表现出盐/热诱导的溶胀行为。为了进一步研究 ZN 的功能，将不同的物质，如甲基橙和牛血清白蛋白（BSA），分别封装到 ZN 中，其封装效率分别高达 89.3%和 93.6%。有趣的是，负载的物质可以通过盐或温度变化在水溶液中进行可控释放，这种响应性也可以用来弹回粘附在目标表面上的细菌。我们相信，这些设计的具有明确定义的核/壳结构和抗污表面的盐和温度响应智能聚合物纳米胶囊应该是生物医学和盐相关应用的有前途的平台。
