title: Colorful Polyelectrolytes: An Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization Route to Fluorescent Polystyrene Sulfonate.
abstract: A labeled green fluorescent polystyrene sulfonate (LNaPSS) has been synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization of a styrene sulfonate monomer with a fluorescent co-monomer, fluorescein thiocyanate-vinyl aniline. As a result this 100 % sulfonated polymer contains no hydrophobic patches along the chain backbone besides the fluorescent marker itself. The concentration of the fluorescent monomer was kept low to maintain the characteristic properties of the anionic polyelectrolyte, LNaPSS. ATRP conditions facilitated the production of polymers spanning a range of molecular weights from 35,000 to 175,000 in gram-scale batches with polydispersity indices of 1.01-1.24. Molecular weight increased with the monomer to initiator ratio. Gel permeation chromatography results show a unimodal distribution, and the polymer structure was also confirmed by (1)H NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. Fluorescence spectroscopy confirmed covalent bonding of fluorescein isothiocyanate to the polymer, indicating that the polymer is suitable as a probe in fluorescence microscopy. To demonstrate this ability, the polymer was used to locate structural features in salt crystals formed during drying, as in the evaporation of sea mist. A second application to probe diffusion studies is also demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Macromolecular Studies Group, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huberty
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Macromolecular Studies Group, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaowei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Macromolecular Studies Group, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
authors.forename: Sreelatha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balamurugan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Macromolecular Studies Group, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Deville
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Macromolecular Studies Group, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA. paul.russo@mse.gatech.edu.|School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, MRDC Building, 801 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0245, USA. paul.russo@mse.gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6009-2742
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Macromolecular Studies Group, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
authors.forename: Donghui
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: Atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP); Fluorescent polyelectrolyte; Imaging agent; Sodium poly(styrene)sulfonate (NaPSS)