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One‐Pot Template‐Free Synthesis of Monodisperse Hollow Hydrogel Microspheres and their Resulting Properties
Author(s) -
Lim HyungSeok,
Kwon Eunji,
Lee Moonjoo,
Moo Lee Young,
Suh KyungDo
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.201300330
Subject(s) - cationic polymerization , dispersity , pulmonary surfactant , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , zeta potential , methacrylic acid , polymer , materials science , bromide , self healing hydrogels , chemistry , copolymer , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , nanoparticle , composite material , engineering
Monodisperse poly(methacrylic acid/ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate) (MAA/EGDMA) hollow microcapsules, which exhibit pH‐responsive behavior, are prepared by diffusion of cationic surfactants and hydrophobic interaction. During the association of the negatively charged hydrogel microspheres and an oppositely charged surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTA(+)B), the hydrophobic polymer‐surfactant complexes that form are separated from the internal water; consequently, a hollow structure can be formed. Confocal laser scanning microscopy, UV spectroscopy and zeta potential are employed to study the formation of the hollow structure during the diffusion of the cationic surfactant. The controlled release behavior of methylene blue as a model drug from the as‐prepared poly(MAA/EGDMA) microcapsules with a hollow structure is investigated under different pH conditions. The hollow structure can be retained, even during repetitive pH changes.