Sonication-enabled rapid production of stable liquid metal nanoparticles grafted with poly(1-octadecene--maleic anhydride) in aqueous solutions

Gallium-based liquid metals are attractive due to their unique combination of metallic and fluidic properties. Liquid metal nanoparticles (LM NPs), produced readily using sonication, find use in soft electronics, drug delivery, and other applications. However, LM NPs in aqueous solutions tend to oxi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nanoscale 2018-11, Vol.1 (42), p.19871-19878
Main Authors: Lin, Yiliang, Genzer, Jan, Li, Weihua, Qiao, Ruirui, Dickey, Michael D, Tang, Shi-Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anhydrides
Aqueous solutions
Biomedical materials
Deionization
Drug delivery systems
Emulsions
Gallium
Gold
Liquid metals
Maleic anhydride
Nanoparticles
Oxidation
Photon correlation spectroscopy
Stabilization
Toluene
Transmission electron microscopy
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Summary:Gallium-based liquid metals are attractive due to their unique combination of metallic and fluidic properties. Liquid metal nanoparticles (LM NPs), produced readily using sonication, find use in soft electronics, drug delivery, and other applications. However, LM NPs in aqueous solutions tend to oxidize and precipitate over time, which hinders their utility in systems that require long-term stability. Here, we introduce a facile route to rapidly produce an aqueous suspension of stable LM NPs within five minutes. We accomplish this by dissolving poly(1-octadecene- alt -maleic anhydride) (POMA) in toluene and mixing with deionized water in the presence of a liquid metal (LM). Sonicating the mixture results in the formation of toluene-POMA emulsions that embed the LM NPs; as the toluene evaporates, POMA coats the particles. Due to the POMA hydrophobic coating, the LM NPs remain stable in biological buffers for at least 60 days without noticeable oxidation, as confirmed by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. Further stabilization is achieved by tuning the LM composition. This paper elucidates the stabilization mechanisms. The stable LM NPs possess the potential to advance the use of LM in biomedical applications. We demonstrate sonication-enabled production of liquid metal nanoparticles grafted with poly(1-octadecene- alt -maleic anhydride) in water that remain stable in biological buffers.
ISSN:2040-3364
2040-3372
DOI:10.1039/c8nr05600e