A study on the preparation of alkyne functional nanoparticles via RAFT emulsion polymerisation

Pratik Gurnani, Alexander B. Cook, Robert A.E. Richardson, Sébastien Perrier (Corresponding author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The multivalent presentation of functional groups on nanoparticle surfaces has long been exploited to attach biologically active moieties. The conventional chemistries typically used (amide, ester, disulfide) however, are non-selective and inefficient. The Huisgen azide alkyne [1,4] cycloaddition (CuAAC) 'click' reaction has paved the way for atom economic, and orthogonal conjugation chemistries, and is now widely used in nanoparticle science. In this work, alkyne functionalised nanoparticles were prepared, without lengthy post-nanoparticle synthesis modification procedures, exploiting RAFT emulsion polymerisations stabilised by functional macro-RAFT agents. Our results indicated that ester derived RAFT agents and addition of pendant charged groups are vital to retain colloidal stability and narrow molecular weight distributions. Finally the nanoparticles and model polymers were functionalised with an azido functional polymer and fluorescent dye, showing the surfaces were easily accessible for rapid and efficient post-polymerisation functionalisation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1452-1459
Number of pages8
JournalPolymer Chemistry
Volume10
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Mar 2019
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors thank CRUK/EPSRC (C53561/A19933; P. G., S. P.) and the Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award (WM130055; S. P.) for financial support.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Funding

The authors thank CRUK/EPSRC (C53561/A19933; P. G., S. P.) and the Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award (WM130055; S. P.) for financial support.

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