Microfluidics Fabrication of Self-Oscillating Microgel Clusters with Tailored Temperature-Responsive Properties Using Polymersomes as “Microreactors”

• Published in: Langmuir 2017-12, Vol.33 (49), p.14058-14065
• Main Authors: Hu, Yuandu, Pérez-Mercader, Juan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0743-7463; 1520-5827
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b03166

Poly­(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based microgel clusters were successfully prepared using polymersomes as “microreactors”, which were fabricated through microfluidics. The clusters were formed from the cross-linking reaction between ruthenium/amino group dual functionalized poly­(N-isopropyl­acrylamide) microgels and linear poly­(N-isopropyl­acrylamide)-r-(N-acryloxy­succinimide)-based polymer linkers under neutral pH conditions. By simply adjusting the ratio of N-isopropyl­acrylamide to N-acryloxy­succinimide in the polymer cross-linkers, the internal structures of the clusters can be controlled; hence, the temperature response of the clusters can be regulated. It was demonstrated that these different microgel clusters showed various degrees of chemomechanical oscillations when the clusters were exposed to a catalyst-free solution containing Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction substrates.