School of Chemistry - Research Publications

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Ultrasound-Assisted Synthesis of Cross-Linked Poly(ethylene glycol) Nanostructures with Hydrophobic Core and Hydrophilic Shell

Zhu, H ; Cavalieri, F ; Ashokkumar, M (WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH, 2018-12)

Abstract One‐pot synthesis of polymeric nanostructures, by using ultrasound without adding initiators and surfactants, is a straightforward approach that has attracted significant attention in polymer science. In this study, the ultrasonic polymerization technique is employed to synthesize poly(ethylene glycol) based nanoparticles with a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell. Interfacial polymerization is performed using an oil‐in‐water emulsion containing oligo (ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate as a water‐soluble monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate acting as an oily‐cross‐linker phase. Both the radicals and physical effects generated by acoustic cavitation are crucial to conduct this surfactant and initiator‐free process and obtain uniform nanoparticles endowed with a hydrophobic core and hydrophilic shell. It is shown that the nanoparticle's core can be loaded with hydrophobic compounds. This technique can be applied to different monomers containing various functional moieties such as amines and carboxyl groups to obtain multifunctional nanoparticles.