Temperature-Responsive Lactic Acid-Based Nanoparticles by RAFT-Mediated Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly in Water.

This work demonstrates for the first-time biobased, temperature-responsive diblock copolymer nanoparticles synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) aqueous emulsion polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). Here, monomers derived from green solvents of the lactic acid portfolio, -dimethyl lactamide acrylate (DMLA) and ethyl lactate acrylate (ELA), were used. First, DMLA was polymerized by RAFT aqueous solution polymerization to produce a hydrophilic PDMLA macromolecular chain transfer agent (macro-CTA), which was chain extended with ELA in water to form amphiphilic PDMLA--PELA diblock copolymer nanoparticles by RAFT aqueous emulsion polymerization. PDMLA homopolymers were synthesized targeting degrees of polymerization, DP from 25 to 400, with relatively narrow molecular weight dispersities ( < 1.30). The PDMLA--PELA diblock copolymers (DP = 10-400) achieved dispersities, , between 1.18 and 1.54 with two distinct glass transition temperatures () identified by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). (7.4 to 15.7 °C) representative of PELA and (69.1 to 79.7 °C) of PDMLA. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) studies gave particle z-average diameters between 11 and 74 nm (PDI = 0.04 to 0.20). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed evidence of spherical particles when dispersions were dried at ∼5 °C and film formation when dried at room temperature. Many of these polymers exhibited a reversible lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in water with a concomitant increase in -average diameter for the PDMLA--PELA diblock copolymer nanoparticles.