Quanxing Gao

Magnetic hydrogels with supracolloidal structures prepared by suspension polymerization stabilized by Fe2O3 nanoparticles

Magnetic hydrogels with supracolloidal structures were fabricated by suspension polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and/or acrylamide (Am) stabilized by Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles. Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles can self-assemble at liquid-liquid interfaces to form stable water in oil Pickering emulsion droplets. Monomers dissolved in suspended aqueous droplets were subsequently polymerized at 60 degrees C. When NIPAm was homopolymerized the PNIPAm produced deposited from the interior water phase onto the interface to form Fe(2)O(3)/PNIPAm nanocomposite shells because of its hydrophobicity at the reaction temperature. Magnetic and thermosensitive hollow microcapsules were obtained. When Am was homopolymerized magnetic core-shell microcapsules with PAm hydrogel cores and Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticle shells were obtained. When NIPAm and Am were co-polymerized, magnetic hydrogel microcapsules with two kinds of supracolloidal structures were obtained varying with the NIPAm/Am ratio. These microcapsule beads may find applications as delivery vehicles for biomolecules, drugs, cosmetics, food supplements and living cells. Suspension polymerization based on Pickering emulsion droplets opens up a new route to synthesize a variety of hybrid hydrogels with supracolloidal structures.

Facile fabrication of well-defined hydrogel beads with magnetic nanocomposite shells.

Well-defined magnetic nanocomposite beads with alginate gel cores and shells of iron oxide (gamma-Fe(2)O(3)) nanoparticles were prepared by self-assembly of colloidal particles at liquid-liquid interfaces and subsequent in situ gelation. Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles could spontaneously adsorb onto the water droplet surfaces to stabilize water-in-hexane emulsions. Water droplets containing sodium alginate were in situ gelled by calcium cations, which were released from calcium-ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (Ca-EDTA) chelate by decreasing pH value through slow hydrolysis of d-glucono-delta-lactone (GDL). The resulting hybrid beads with a core-shell structure were easily collected by removing hexane. This facile and high efficient fabrication had a 100% yield and could be carried out at room temperature. Insulin microcrystal was encapsulated into the hybrid beads by dispersing them in the aqueous solution of alginate sodium in the fabrication process. The sustained release could be obtained due to the dual barriers of the hydrogel core and the close-packed inorganic shell. The release curves were nicely fitted by the Weibull equation and the release followed Fickian diffusion. The hybrid beads may find applications as delivery vehicles for biomolecules, drugs, cosmetics, food supplements and living cells.

Dual nanocomposite multihollow polymer microspheres prepared by suspension polymerization based on a multiple pickering emulsion

A solid-stabilized multiple w/o/w or o/w/o emulsion was prepared in a two-step process. Various nanocomposite polymer microspheres with multihollow armored closed pores were fabricated easily by suspension polymerization of the multiple Pickering stabilized emulsions.

Surfactant-Free Multiple Pickering Emulsions Stabilized by Combining Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Nanoparticles

A series of W/O/W or O/W/O emulsion stabilized solely by two different types of solid nanoparticles were prepared by a two-step method. We explored the option of particular emulsifiers for the multiple Pickering emulsions, and a variety of nanoparticles (silica, iron oxide, and clay) only differing in their wettability was used. The primary W/O emulsion was obtained by the hydrophobic nanoparticles, and then the hydrophilic nanoparticles were used as emulsifier in the secondary emulsification to prepare the W/O/W emulsion. In a similar way, the primary O/W emulsion of the O/W/O emulsion was stabilized by the hydrophilic nanoparticles, while the secondary emulsification to prepare the O/W/O emulsion was effected with the hydrophobic nanoparticles. The resultant multiple Pickering emulsion was stable to coalescence for more than 3 months, except the W/O/W emulsions of which the secondary emulsion stabilized by clay nanoparticles became a simple O/W emulsion in a day after preparation. Moreover, the temperature and pH sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid) (P(NIPAm-co-MAA)) microgels were introduced as an emulsifier for the secondary emulsification to obtain the stimulus-responsive multiple W/O/W emulsion. Such microgel-stabilized multiple emulsions could realize the efficient controlled release of water-soluble dye, Rhodamine B (RB) on demand in a multiple-emulsion delivery system.