title: Size-Controlled 3D Colloidal Crystals Formed in an Aqueous Suspension of Polystyrene/Polyglycidol Microspheres with Covalently Bound l-DOPA.
abstract: Stable three-dimensional colloidal crystals were fabricated in an aqueous suspension of Tris buffer at pH > 8. The basic building blocks of the crystals were submicron-sized polystyrene-polyglycidol core-shell particles (Dn(SEM)= 270 ± 18 nm) with covalently bound 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-DOPA). The growth of the crystals was triggered by a thermodynamically favorable arrangement of particles leading to their close packing and by the formation of covalent cross-links between the individual particles. Under alkaline conditions, molecules of l-DOPA are oxidized, which allows their participation in cross-linking, necessary for the stabilization of the formed colloidal crystals. The average size of the fabricated colloidal crystals is determined by their weight, density of the suspending medium, and the energy of their Brownian motion. Crystals generated during the suspension of particles fall down after reaching the critical weight. Therefore, crystals of similar dimensions are deposited at the bottom of the vessel. The described system is the first example of the formation of stable colloidal crystals in a suspension.
authors: Department of Engineering of Polymer Materials, Centre of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies of Polish Academy of Sciences , ul. Sienkiewicza 112, 90-363 Łódź, Poland.
authors: Monika
authors: M
authors: Gosecka
authors: Department of Engineering of Polymer Materials, Centre of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies of Polish Academy of Sciences , ul. Sienkiewicza 112, 90-363 Łódź, Poland.
authors: Stanislaw
authors: S
authors: Slomkowski
authors: Department of Engineering of Polymer Materials, Centre of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies of Polish Academy of Sciences , ul. Sienkiewicza 112, 90-363 Łódź, Poland.
authors: Teresa
authors: T
authors: Basinska
authors: ITODYS, Univ Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR CNRS 7086 , 15 Rue J-A De Baïf, Paris 75013, France.|Université Paris Est, ICMPE (UMR7182), CNRS, UPEC , Thiais 94320, France.
authors: Mohamed M
authors: MM
authors: Chehimi
mesh_terms: D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry*; D007980:Levodopa / Q000737:chemistry*; D008863:Microspheres; D010316:Particle Size; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D011409:Propylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids; D011137:Polystyrenes; D011409:Propylene Glycols; C502907:polyglycidol; D007980:Levodopa