A Versatile Approach on the Preparation of Dye-Labeled Stimuli-Responsive Composite Polymer Particles by Surface Modification

Search for new smart polymeric materials are being constantly made that sense specific environmental changes in biological systems, and adjust in a predictable manner, making them useful tools for drug delivery or other metabolic control mechanisms. As such the introduction of easily transformable epoxy group on or near the surface of the stimuli-responsive polymer particles would offer advantages and diversify the application potentials. In this research work epoxy functional stimuliresponsive composite particles poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylateglycidyl methacrylate-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) [PMMA/ P(DM-GMA-EGDM)] with variable GMA contents (based on recipe) were prepared by seeded emulsion copolymerization of DM, GMA and EGDM with submicron-sized PMMA seed particles. The composite polymer particles have been characterized by FTIR, electron micrographs, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, epoxy content measurement and adsorption study of low molecular weight surfactants and biomolecules such as trypsin and egg albumin. The epoxy content increased with the increase of GMA content in the recipe. The adsorption study showed that irrespective of epoxy contents the composite particles exhibited both temperature-and pH-responsive phase transitions. Composite particles bearing the highest number of epoxy groups on or near the particles surface were covalently bonded with dye to increase the application potentials in xerography, printing, sensing devices, cell labeling, biological studies, electronic inks and also as calibration kits for optical methods.