Magnetite (Fe3O4) and Maghemite (&amp / #947 / -Fe2O3) are well-known iron oxide phases among magnetic nanoparticles due to their magnetic properties, chemical stability, and nontoxicity. They have gained acceptance in several fields of application of nanomaterials such as magnetic recording systems, magnetic refrigeration, magneto-optical devices, magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic separation techniques and separation and purification of biological molecules. Recently, there is a growing interest in the synthesis of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in a polymeric, glassy or ceramic matrix since the preparation of pure phase iron oxide composite material involves, presently, some difficulties partially arising from different oxidation states of iron which can lead to the presence of various oxides. Matrix support, in principle, modifies the properties of nanomaterials, thus opening new possibilities for the control of their performance. In addition, the chosen matrix, polymer or sol-gel, provides binding of the functional groups and also prevents grain growth and agglomeration. Therefore, extensive research is conducted on this subject. Sonochemical technique is an effective method to synthesize magnetic nanoparticles with many unique properties due to extreme reaction conditions. Besides, a microscopic mixing in the synthesis procedure is obtained because of the microjet effect which comes from the collapse of the bubbles. This effect creates relatively uniform reaction conditions. Thus, well-dispersed and stable nanoparticles are obtained by using ultrasound. In this study, &amp / #947 / -Fe2O3, maghemite nanoparticles are accommodated in an inert, inorganic, transparent and temperature resistant sol gel matrix to achieve stabilization. The nature and concentration of the salt used, evaporation conditions of the sols, the following heat treatments had been investigated and shown that they had great influence on the particle size and the final iron oxide phase in the sol-gel. The Fe2O3/SiO2 nanocomposites were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) techniques. In addition, magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were synthesized via co-precipitation in the presence of poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) in aqueous solution. PMAA, which was used as the coating material, prevents magnetite nanoparticles from oxidation towards a lower saturation magnetization iron oxide phases. In order to achieve small particle size and uniform size distribution of the magnetite nanoparticles in PMAA matrix, ultrasonic irradiation was applied during co-precipitation. The polymer coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), laser particle sizer, X-ray diffraction, (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) techniques and zeta potential measurements.

Yes / There are many polymers formed of acrylate monomers in existence. Here we interrogate four commonly-used examples and study how their solution properties are pH dependent, or how their state of ionisation can affect their solution properties. Poly(acrylic acid) and poly(methacrylic acid) are both polyelectrolytes, with ionisable functional groups that make them stimuli responsive, changing their hydrodynamic volume. Poly(acrylamide) is a mass-produced material used in a variety of industrial applications, often with an anionic and cationic co-monomer, which dictates both its efficacy and impact on the environment. Poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) is a thermally responsive material with applications in smart bioengineering. In solution, these materials can interact with each other due to competing hydrogen bonding interactions. However, this interpolymer complexation is dependent on both the ionisation, and the conformational state, of the polymers involved. This review focuses on the results from fluorescence tagging and turbidimetric techniques.

There has been growing interest in designing and development of suitable micro or nano drug delivery system with the ability to target site specifically and release the payload in a predetermined fashion. Recently a new type of system called polyelectrolyte microcapsules and thin films have been proposed and developed for applications such as, biomedical devices to micro sensing and drug delivery. Owing to its advantages of mild preparation conditions, multifunctionality, with programmable characteristics and to encapsulate large amount of materials, it has shown immense potential. In the present research, multilayer polyelectrolyte thin films composed of Poly(methacrylic acid) (PMA) and Poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) were deposited on the flat substrates using layer by layer (LBL) technique. The film growth and its deconstruction under physiological conditions were characterized using UV Visible spectrophotometer and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Hollow microcapsules composed of PMA and PVP were also produced with the help of sacrificial silica template using the same LBL adsorption technique. After coating the desired number of PVP and PMA layers, the colloidal template was removed with a buffer system composed of Hydrofluoric acid (HF) and Ammonium fluoride (NH4F). The obtained capsules were characterized for its surface morphology using SEM and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The hydrogen bonding in capsule formation was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Encapsulation and release with the microcapsules was carried out using Rifampicin (Antitubercular drug) as a model drug. The interaction of empty and drug loaded capsules with Mycobacterium Smegmatis cell line was investigated. It was found that the empty capsules did not affect the cell growth indicating their biocompatibility. Confocal microscopy studies with Doxorubicin (anticancer drug), which is a naturally fluorescent molecule, showed the drug is indeed encapsulated inside the hollow capsule. From the above studies, it was concluded that polyelectrolyte capsules have the potential to be used for delivering drugs.

Ces travaux décrivent la synthèse de nanoparticules stabilisées par des polyélectrolytes d’originesynthétique (poly(acide (méth)acrylique)) ou naturelle (alginate) par polymérisation radicalairecontrôlée (PRC) de type RAFT en émulsion. Ce procédé est basé sur l’utilisation d’un polymèrehydrophile obtenu par RAFT (macroRAFT) qui est réactivé dans l’eau pour la polymérisation d’unmonomère hydrophobe. Des copolymères à blocs amphiphiles sont ainsi générés et s’auto-assemblent in situ pour former des nanoparticules. Dans un premier temps, nous avons cherché à conduire l’ensemble du procédé en milieu aqueux. Des études ont ainsi été menées sur la polymérisation RAFTdans l’eau de l’acide acrylique et de l’acide méthacrylique. Des homopolymères bien définis ont été obtenus sur une large gamme de conditions, puis ont été utilisés comme macroRAFTs pour la polymérisation en émulsion de monomères hydrophobes. Des nanoparticules stables constituées de copolymères à blocs amphiphiles bien définis ont été produites. Il a été montré que le contrôle de la polymérisation et la nucléation dépendaient fortement du pH, mais qu’une bonne stabilité colloïdale était néanmoins observée dans tous les cas. Ce procédé "one-pot " a ensuite été extrapolé à la synthèse de particules stabilisées par des copolymères hydrophiles de N-acryloylmorpholine (NAM) et de macromonomères d’alginate. Des nano-objets aux morphologies variées ont été obtenus. Afin de mieux appréhender la formation de ces morphologies, un système modèle employant un copolymère hydrophile de NAM et de macromonomère de polyNAM obtenu par polymérisation RAFT a été étudiépour la polymérisation en émulsion du styrène. / This work describes the synthesis of nanoparticles stabilized by polyelectrolytes from synthetic(poly((meth)acrylic acid)) or natural (alginate) source by controlled free radical polymerization (CRP),namely RAFT, in emulsion. This process is based on the use of a hydrophilic polymer prepared by RAFT (i.e. macroRAFT) which is reactivated in water for the polymerization of a hydrophobic monomer. The formation of amphiphilic block copolymers which self-assemble in situ leads to the formation of nanoparticles. Firstly, we tried to perform the whole process in water. The RAFT polymerization of acrylic acid and methacrylic acid was studied in this context. Well-defined homopolymers were obtained under a large range of conditions, and further used as macroRAFTs in emulsion polymerization of hydrophobic monomers. Stable nanoparticles composed of well-defined amphiphilic block copolymers were produced. It was shown that the control of the polymerization and the nucleation were strongly dependent on the pH. Nevertheless, a good colloidal stability wasobserved in all cases. This “one-pot” process was then extrapolated to the synthesis of particles stabilized by hydrophilic copolymers of N-acryloylmorpholine (NAM) and alginate macromonomer. Nano-objects with various morphologies were obtained. In order to better understand the formation of these morphologies, a model system using a hydrophilic copolymer of NAM and a polyNAM macromonomer obtained by RAFT polymerization was studied in styrene emulsion polymerization.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:42:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ClaudioLV.pdf: 1496908 bytes, checksum: 9da02c26d9351b21019488117fc27924 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-05-28 / Dispersions composed of polyelectrolyte complexes based on chitosan and poly(methacrylic acid), PMAA, were obtained by the dropping method and template polymerization. The effect of molecular weight of PMAA and ionic strength on the formation of chitosan/poly(methacrylic acid), CS/PMAA, complexes was evaluated using the dropping method. The increase in molecular weight of PMAA inhibited the formation of insoluble complexes, while the increase in ionic strength first favored the formation of the complex followed by inhibiting it at higher concentrations. The polyelectrolyte complexation was strongly dependent on macromolecular dimensions, both in terms of molecular weight and of coil expansion/contraction driven by polyelectrolyte effect. The resultant particles from dropping method and template polymerization were characterized as having regions with different charge densities: chitosan predominating in the core and poly(methacrylic acid) at the surface, the particles being negatively charged, as a consequence. Albumin was adsorbed on templatepolymerized CS/PMAA complexes (after crosslinking with glutardialdehyde) and pH was controlled in order to obtain two conditions: (i) adsorption of positively charged albumin, and (ii) adsorption of albumin at its isoelectric point. Adsorption isotherms and zeta potential measurements showed that albumin adsorption was controlled by hydrogen bonding/van der Waals interactions and that brushlike structures may enhance adsorption of albumin on these particles / Dispers?es formadas a partir de complexos polieletrol?ticos de quitosana e de poli(?cido metacr?lico), PMAA, foram obtidas tanto pelo m?todo de gotejamento, como pelo m?todo de polimeriza??o em molde. O efeito da massa molar do PMAA e da for?a i?nica na forma??o dos complexos de quitosana/poli(?cido metacr?lico), CS/PMAA, foi avaliado usando o m?todo de gotejamento. O aumento da massa molar do PMAA inibiu a forma??o dos complexos insol?veis, enquanto o aumento da for?a i?nica primeiramente favoreceu a forma??o dos complexos, depois a inibiu, em altas concentra??es de eletr?litos de baixa massa molar. A complexa??o dos polieletr?litos foi fortemente dependente das dimens?es macromoleculares, tanto em termos da massa molar quanto do efeito de expans?o/contra??o dos novelos, devido ao efeito polieletrol?tico. As part?culas resultantes tanto do m?todo de gotejamento, como da polimeriza??o em molde foram caracterizadas por apresentarem regi?es com diferentes densidades de carga: a quitosana predominantemente presente na regi?o central e o poli(?cido metacr?lico), na superf?cie, sendo, portanto, as part?culas carregadas negativamente. A albumina foi adsorvida nos complexos de CS/PMAA obtidos por polimeriza??o em molde (depois de sofrerem reticula??o covalente usando glutaralde?do) e o pH foi controlado a fim de se obter duas condi??es: (i) adsor??o de albumina carregada positivamente e (ii) adsor??o de albumina em seu ponto isoel?trico. As isotermas de adsor??o e as medidas de potencial zeta mostraram que a adsor??o da albumina foi controlada por liga??es de hidrog?nio/intera??es de van der Waals e que as estruturas em forma de escova puderam aumentar a adsor??o da albumina nessas part?culas