Collaborative Research: Well-Defined Polyelectrolyte Nanocages via Crystallized Miniemulsion Nanodroplets

在由大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目资助的合作研究中，纽约州立大学布法罗分校的郑冲和约翰·霍普金斯大学的崔洪刚正在开发控制制备微小纳米聚合物笼子的新技术。这些小结构在开发将药物或其他物质直接输送到组织和细胞的新方法方面具有巨大的潜力。这项研究的重点是一种特定类型的纳米笼子，即纳米笼子，它是结晶的，但包裹着一种被称为表面活性物质的类似肥皂的分子。该策略旨在稳定生成的曲面，并使其能够更严格地控制生成的框架的大小。该小组还在进行系统研究，以准确地调查这种稳定是如何发生的，以便更多地了解所涉及的分子水平的事件。这将使这项研究的结果能够应用于其他系统。这项工作正在对开发新的系统产生更广泛的影响，以便将药物和其他治疗剂输送到体内的精确位置。通过制作一系列解释这项工作的视频，它正在产生进一步的广泛影响。这些视频正通过YouTube发布，帮助将这项研究的结果带给公众。该项目专注于通过“晶体形成”微乳液精确合成聚电解质纳米笼。这项研究的第二个目的是在分子水平上了解该模板体系中的稳定机制。目前正在进行系统的研究，以获得具有高表面活性剂效率和预定尺寸的结晶微乳液纳米液滴。这使得可以通过自由基聚合来合成尺寸可控、交联度不同的各种纳米笼。稳定机理的研究正在进行中，以确定表面活性剂单分子层是通过疏水相互作用还是通过表面活性剂烷基链与石油分子的共结晶稳定在结晶的微乳液纳米液滴表面。这种“晶体形成”的稳定策略可能会为长达数十年的表面活性剂单分子膜在各种乳化体系中的动态不稳定这一技术问题提供一个实用的解决方案。该项目的成功实施将为进一步优化具有增强稳定性和可控尺寸的单层系统奠定基础。

In collaborative research funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry program, Chong Cheng of the State University at New York at Buffalo and Honggang Cui of John Hopkins University are developing new techniques for the controlled preparation of tiny nanometer-sized polymer cages. These small structures have enormous potential for the development of new methods to deliver drugs or other substances directly to tissues and cells. The research is focused on a specific type of nanometer-sized cage, or nanocage, that is crystalline but coated with a soap-like molecule known as a surfactant. The strategy is meant to stabilize the resulting surfaces and make it possible to more closely control the size of the resulting cages. The group is also carrying out systematic studies to investigate precisely how this stabilization occurs, in order to learn more about the molecular-level events involved. This will allow application of the results of this research to other systems. The work is having a broader impact on the development of new systems for the delivery of drugs and other therapeutic agents to precise locations in the body. It is having a further broad impact through the production of a series of videos that explain the work. These videos are being distributed via YouTube, helping to bring the results of this research to members of the public.This project focuses on the precise synthesis of polyelectrolyte nanocages via "crystal-forming" miniemulsions. A second aim of the study is to obtain a molecular level understanding of the stabilization mechanism in this template system. Systematic studies are being conducted to obtain crystallized miniemulsion nanodroplets with high surfactant efficiency and predetermined sizes. This is allowing the synthesis of a great diversity of nanocages with well-controlled dimensions and varying cross-linking densities via free-radical polymerization. The stabilization mechanism study is being performed to identify whether the surfactant monolayers are stabilized on the surface of crystallized miniemulsion nanodroplets through hydrophobic interaction or via co-crystallization of surfactant alkyl chains with oil molecules. This "crystal-forming" stabilization strategy may lead to a practical solution for the decades-long technical problem of dynamic instability of surfactant monolayers in various emulsion systems. Successful implementation of this project will lay the foundation for further optimization of monolayer systems with both enhanced stability and controlled dimensions.