pH-Responsive Hollow Polymeric Microspheres from Irradiated Cyclic Ether Aqueous Solution

Smart hollow polymeric microspheres have been widely applied in various fields such as controlled release, drug delivery, catalysis, and so on. Herein, a facile, green and one-step template-free method is introduced for preparing pH-responsive hollow polymeric microspheres via gamma irradiation of c...

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Main Authors: Chuhong Yu, Jing Peng, Jiuqiang Li, Maolin Zhai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/18/8652
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author Chuhong Yu
Jing Peng
Jiuqiang Li
Maolin Zhai
author_facet Chuhong Yu
Jing Peng
Jiuqiang Li
Maolin Zhai
author_sort Chuhong Yu
collection DOAJ
description Smart hollow polymeric microspheres have been widely applied in various fields such as controlled release, drug delivery, catalysis, and so on. Herein, a facile, green and one-step template-free method is introduced for preparing pH-responsive hollow polymeric microspheres via gamma irradiation of cyclic ether aqueous solution. The hollow polymeric microspheres are synthesized by radiation-induced polymerization and following the self-assembly and self-organization of amphiphilic polymer with cyclic ethers as monomers in water. SEM, TEM, micro-FTIR, and NMR confirmed the morphology and structures of the resultant microspheres. The confocal laser scanning microscope was used to investigate the stimuli-responsiveness and release behavior of hollow microspheres using 1-pyrene carboxaldehyde as a hydrophobic molecule model. The well-defined hollow polymeric microspheres with an average diameter of ca. 2.6 μm or 1.6 μm were prepared directly from dicyclohexal-18-crown-6 or tetraphydropyrane aqueous solution, respectively. The prepared hollow microspheres exhibit obvious pH stimuli-responsiveness and can release the encapsulated hydrophobic molecules when pH is higher than 5.0. Moreover, the reversible morphology transition between hollow microspheres and micelles makes the prepared hollow polymeric microspheres potentially suitable for a wide range of applications, including removal of dyes, oil field engineering, and biomedical fields.
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spelling doaj.art-7c0e93fe1b054f149c6244bc0d6f8bf42023-11-22T11:56:09ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172021-09-011118865210.3390/app11188652pH-Responsive Hollow Polymeric Microspheres from Irradiated Cyclic Ether Aqueous SolutionChuhong Yu0Jing Peng1Jiuqiang Li2Maolin Zhai3Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Radiochemistry and Radiation Chemistry Key Laboratory of Fundamental Science, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaBeijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Radiochemistry and Radiation Chemistry Key Laboratory of Fundamental Science, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaBeijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Radiochemistry and Radiation Chemistry Key Laboratory of Fundamental Science, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaBeijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Radiochemistry and Radiation Chemistry Key Laboratory of Fundamental Science, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaSmart hollow polymeric microspheres have been widely applied in various fields such as controlled release, drug delivery, catalysis, and so on. Herein, a facile, green and one-step template-free method is introduced for preparing pH-responsive hollow polymeric microspheres via gamma irradiation of cyclic ether aqueous solution. The hollow polymeric microspheres are synthesized by radiation-induced polymerization and following the self-assembly and self-organization of amphiphilic polymer with cyclic ethers as monomers in water. SEM, TEM, micro-FTIR, and NMR confirmed the morphology and structures of the resultant microspheres. The confocal laser scanning microscope was used to investigate the stimuli-responsiveness and release behavior of hollow microspheres using 1-pyrene carboxaldehyde as a hydrophobic molecule model. The well-defined hollow polymeric microspheres with an average diameter of ca. 2.6 μm or 1.6 μm were prepared directly from dicyclohexal-18-crown-6 or tetraphydropyrane aqueous solution, respectively. The prepared hollow microspheres exhibit obvious pH stimuli-responsiveness and can release the encapsulated hydrophobic molecules when pH is higher than 5.0. Moreover, the reversible morphology transition between hollow microspheres and micelles makes the prepared hollow polymeric microspheres potentially suitable for a wide range of applications, including removal of dyes, oil field engineering, and biomedical fields.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/18/8652γ-irradiationcyclic ethersstimuli-responsivenesshollow microspheres
spellingShingle Chuhong Yu
Jing Peng
Jiuqiang Li
Maolin Zhai
pH-Responsive Hollow Polymeric Microspheres from Irradiated Cyclic Ether Aqueous Solution
Applied Sciences
γ-irradiation
cyclic ethers
stimuli-responsiveness
hollow microspheres
title pH-Responsive Hollow Polymeric Microspheres from Irradiated Cyclic Ether Aqueous Solution
title_full pH-Responsive Hollow Polymeric Microspheres from Irradiated Cyclic Ether Aqueous Solution
title_fullStr pH-Responsive Hollow Polymeric Microspheres from Irradiated Cyclic Ether Aqueous Solution
title_full_unstemmed pH-Responsive Hollow Polymeric Microspheres from Irradiated Cyclic Ether Aqueous Solution
title_short pH-Responsive Hollow Polymeric Microspheres from Irradiated Cyclic Ether Aqueous Solution
title_sort ph responsive hollow polymeric microspheres from irradiated cyclic ether aqueous solution
topic γ-irradiation
cyclic ethers
stimuli-responsiveness
hollow microspheres
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/18/8652
work_keys_str_mv AT chuhongyu phresponsivehollowpolymericmicrospheresfromirradiatedcyclicetheraqueoussolution
AT jingpeng phresponsivehollowpolymericmicrospheresfromirradiatedcyclicetheraqueoussolution
AT jiuqiangli phresponsivehollowpolymericmicrospheresfromirradiatedcyclicetheraqueoussolution
AT maolinzhai phresponsivehollowpolymericmicrospheresfromirradiatedcyclicetheraqueoussolution