title: Preparation of well-defined core-shell particles by Cu2+-mediated graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate from bovine serum albumin.
abstract: Small well-defined core-shell poly(methyl methacrylate)-bovine serum albumin (PMMA-BSA) particles have been prepared in a direct one-step graft copolymerization of MMA from BSA at 75 degrees C in water with a trace amount of Cu2+ (5 microM). Initially, BSA generates free radicals and acts as a multifunctional macroinitiator, which leads to the formation of an amphiphilic PMMA-BSA grafting copolymer. Such formed copolymer chains act as a polymeric stabilizer to promote further emulsion polymerization of MMA inside, resulting in surfactant-free stable core-shell particles, confirmed by a transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analysis. The PMMA-BSA copolymers as well as PMMA homopolymer inside the particles were isolated by Soxhlet extraction and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetry (TG). The highest grafting efficiency was approximately 80%. Effects of the reaction temperature, the MMA/BSA ratio, and the concentrations of Cu2+ and BSA on such core-shell particle formation have been systematically studied. Due to their inert PMMA core and biocompatible BSA shell, these small polymer particles are potentially useful in biomedical applications.
authors.affiliation: The Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
authors.forename: Chuanxin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Jianhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Laiyong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Qianling
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiangzhong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Guangzhao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002413:Cations, Divalent / Q000737:chemistry; D002417:Cattle; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D020366:Methylmethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002413:Cations, Divalent; D011108:Polymers; D014867:Water; D020366:Methylmethacrylate; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D003300:Copper