Polymers join forces to deliver
An affordable, heavy metal- and odor-free method for making hollow polymer nanostructures has been designed by A*STAR researchers. These structures could find use as delivery systems for personal care products, drugs and agrochemicals.
The use of hollow polymer nanostructures for carrying—and preserving the stability of—active ingredients, such as salicylic acid, vitamins, drugs and pesticides, is booming. These shells release cargo on demand in response to triggers such as water. Current manufacturing methods are imperfect, due to either cost, environmental or safety reasons. Significant efforts are therefore being devoted to developing alternatives.
Alexander van Herk from the A*STAR Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences and Atsushi Goto from Nanyang Technological University, have designed a safe, simple route to synthesize polymer nanoparticles, nanocylinders and nanocapsules.
The first stage in this two-step synthesis is to polymerize methylacrylic acid (MAA) in the presence of iodine to make alkyl iodides. The poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) then acts as an initiator in the polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and formation of the block co-polymer. Sodium iodide is the catalyst in both stages. PMAA is hydrophilic and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is hydrophobic, meaning that in polar solvents such as ethanol and water the co-polymer self-assembles into hollow nanostructures.
Read more.