Chinese scientists have developed a new way to fabricate polymeric vesicles with well-defined PMMA brushes using silica particles as templates by surface-initiated photopolymerization (SIPP).
A cross-linked layer of PDMAEMA was immobilised on the surface of silica particles before photo-initiated polymerisation of methyl methacrylate in the presence of thioxanthone generated PMMA brushes on the vesicles. Removal of the silica cores yielded polymeric vesicles with well-defined PMMA brushes. This robust approach shows great potential for the fabrication and modification of polymer vesicles with differerent sizes and functions.
Interested to know more? Why not read the full article for free: Fengting Chen, Xuesong Jiang, Rui Liu and Jie Yin, Polym. Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0PY00288G (Advance Article)
